There's all kinds of courage
by rholou
Summary: Kurt and Blaine are going to take a while to get over this, especially when one of them isn't used to accepting help. Even though he's really going to need it this time.
1. Chapter 1

There's all kinds of courage

A/N; Hi it's been ages since I wrote anything so please excuse if it's rubbish, also I was so eager to get this up I may have missed lots of mistakes. I'm going to make it T for now because there's going to be some dark stuff later. if anyone thinks it should be M let me know.

oh yeah I don't own any of it not even a ticket to see Darren Criss perform in London, but I'll probably get over it some day.

Chapter One

The alleyway was dark and smelled like rotten garbage but the boy didn't notice, all he could smell was blood.

He felt like he was coated in it, it seemed to have soaked into his very pores, but the worse thing was that he knew most of it wasn't his. No, if only. The blood that coated him, staining his skin and clothes belonged to the other boy that he clutched tightly in his arms and he would give anything to put it back, for the face he looked down on to be unmarked and clean.

A cool breeze blew against him making him shiver and bringing him out of his trance slightly. The t-shirt he was wearing was torn and wet and offered little protection from the cool air. Even though it was the start of summer it was late enough in the evening that the warmth had gone from the day. He didn't want to take his eyes off the boy in his arms, didn't want to have to begin to deal with this but he knew he needed to get help, and soon.

He glanced around and saw his jacket laying where it had been thrown earlier, as he reached for it his mind replayed the moment it had been torn from his body and he immediatly closed the thought off. He didn't need to think about that right now, no not now. For now he needed to get help. He reluctantly loosened one arm from around the other boys still form and reached for the jacket pulling it towards him. He debated putting it on for a moment and then decided to lay it over the other boy instead. He reached into one of the pockets and found the reassuring shape of his cell phone. Clutching it tightly in his hand he took a deep breath and dialled 911.

" 911 do you need fire, medical or police?" the calm voice of a woman came over the phone and the shock of hearing a voice in the silence almost caused him to drop the phone.

"Um..." his mind went blank all of a sudden and he found himself unable to answer.

"Hello do you need help?" the voice came again.

"Yes" his voice sounded hoarse and he had to say it again so that he could be heard. "We... I.. need an ambulance."

"Okay sir, what is the problem?" the voice was female, calm and official.

"He won't wake up and there's so much blood" he stumbled over the words and could feel his heart starting to beat faster as panic set in.

"What is your location?"

The question stumped him for a minute whilst he tried to calm his racing thoughts and give her the answer she needed so she could help him. God to think a little while ago they had been argueing about whether Thor had been worth the cost of the tickets or not. Theatre tickets that's it.

"We're in the alley next to the Movie Theatre on Stratton Street" he was suprised at how calm he sounded all of a sudden, the simple telling of hard facts focusing his mind for a moment.

"Okay I've dispatched paremedics they should be with you soon. Is your friend breathing?"

"Yeah...yes he's breathing but..." he trailed off.

"Well that's good" the voice replied. "My name's Sheila, can you tell me yours?"

He felt a moment of panic as if giving her his name changed anything, like if he didn't tell her then he could pretend this wasn't real and it was happening to someone else.

"Son, what's your name?" Sheila asked again, her voice calm and reassuring.

"Blaine" he almost whispered.

"Blaine and your friends name?"

He felt like yelling at her then, friend, why did she just assume that's all he was to him, why didn't she realise that the boy so still in his arms was his whole life. He realised that he was being irrational and that she wasn't assuming anything, that she didn't know them at all.

He took another deep shaky breath before he answered slighlty louder than before "Kurt".

"So it's Blaine and Kurt, good. Now I know Kurt's hurt and don't worry the paremedics are almost with you but I need to know if you're okay Blaine?" Sheila asked.

"I'm fine" he answered quickly, because he was, wasn't he? He wasn't the one unconcious, bleeding on the floor, he was fine and nobody but him needed to know what a lie that was.

He could hear sirens in the distance getting closer.

"I think they're here" he said into the phone and then hung up before she could say anything else.

He automatically put the phone back in his pocket and ran a shaky hand through his curly hair wincing when he hit a couple of sore spots. He looked back down at the delicate features of the boy in his arms and bit back a sob. If not for the blood he looked like he was sleeping and what he wouldn't give to see those beautiful pale eyes open up and for him to smile up at him. He shifted slighlty and it hurt more than he was expecting. He bit back a gasp as numorous place on his body screamed out in pain at the unwelcome movement. Blue lights flashed at the end of the alley bathing both their faces in cold light.

"It's going to be okay Kurt" he leaned down and whispered in his boyfriends ear "they're here now and they'll help you".

"Hello" he heard a voice call out and he allowed himself to relax slightly knowing that this was no longer only his burden to bear.

A/N; short I know but call it a teaser. I have a set idea where this is going and it might seem like Kurt is worse off at the minute but just know that Blaine is my favourite character ever and so therefore he'll be the one I enjoy hurting the most.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N; WOW, thanks everyone, feeling all kinds of pressure now, hope you still like it, xx

Still don't own it and those tickets are going for about £300 now so no chance. I'm obsessed but I've still got bills to pay.

Chapter Two

Carol watched as Burt slammed the phone down in it's cradle.

"I swear I'm going to kill him" he said between gritted teeth.

"Who, Kurt or Blaine?" Carol responded, trying to hide her smile in the face of her new husband's anger.

"Both of them" he snapped back. "I said 10.30 and it's now gone midnight, what are they thinking, I thought they we're both more responsible then this".

"I'm sure they're just enjoying themselves and lost track of the time". Carol knew what teenage boys could be like, Finn was always pushing it when it came to curfews. Still she realised that this was fairly new for Burt and she couldn't help feeling a twinge of worry for the boys. This was really unlike them.

"I'm going to try Blaine's phone again" Burt walked over to the where the phone sat. But before he could pick it up to dial it rang, startling them both. Only for a moment though before Burt snatched it up angrily.

"You better have a damn good excuse Kurt" he yelled into the receiver assuming that's who would be on the other end of the line.

"Mr Hummel" a quiet voice responded.

"Blaine?" Carol could see Burt's anger was still burning. "Where the hell are you boys?"

"We're at the hospital". With those four words Burt seemed to fold in on himself.

"What do you meant you're at the hospital?," Carol stepped forward at Burt's question "where the hell is Kurt? Put him on the phone Blaine".

"I... I can't" Blaine seemed to be struggling to say the words "he's unconcious".

"Are you at St Rita's?"

"Yes sir".

"We'll be right there" Burt hung up the phone on the other boy and turned to find Carol already standing at the front door with the car keys in her hand. Even in that moment he took a second to think what an amazing woman he'd married before he quickly followed her out to the car.

- 

Blaine pressed the end key with shaking fingers when Burt hung up on him then scrolled through the rest of his contacts until he found his mother's number. He hesitated for a moment and then hit send.

It rang a couple of times before a familiar voice answered "hello", she sounded suspicious.

Blaine found his throat closing up, unable to answer.

"Blaine is that you?" of course his name would have come up on her phone.

"Hey mom" he was surprised at how weary his voice sounded.

"Blaine it must be after midnight there, why are you calling?" his parents we're currently in Rome with his fathers work, it would still be early evening there.

"Something happened mom, I'm at the hospital"

"Are you alright?" why did the concern in her voice surprise him.

"Yeah mom I'm fine" the lie seemed to come a little easier every time he told it, maybe at some point he's even convince himself that it was true.

"What happened?"

"Someone attacked me and my... friend..." he stopped when he heard his mother sigh and he knew immediately what she was thinking, not again.

"Do you need me to come home, I will if you want me too, but if you're not hurt then is it really necessary? I mean it's a really long flight" her voice had gone all business again like it always did in this sort of situations. God how he wanted to scream at her then, to yell, to say _mom I need you, why can't you see that, I'm seventeen and three men just attacked me and my boyfriend, left him for dead and hurt me really badly, why can't you tell that I need you_. But he didn't say any of that, instead he played along, just like he always did.

"No mom. you're right I'm fine" that word again "I just thought I should let you know, that's all".

"Well okay sweetie, take care, and we'll see you in a few weeks time" the relief in her voice at being let off the hook was palpable.

"Okay mom, I love you " despite his best efforts his voice broke slightly on the last word.

He could feel his mom hesitate "Are you sure you're okay Blaine?".

Just then he could see a nurse trying to catch his eye at the door to the waiting room.

"Yeah mom see you soon. I've got to go the nurse wants to speak to me, tell Dad I said hi."

"Bye Blaine, call if you need anything" and with that she was gone. Call if you need anything he thought to himself, what about if I just want my mom, is that too much to ask. She hadn't even asked about Kurt.

Seeing that he'd finished his call the nurse approached him.

"Hi are you the young man who came in with Kurt Hummel?" she asked smiling down at him.

"Yes " he said leaping to his feet in anticipation of some news. Turned out to be a bad idea as the room spun alarmingly.

"Here sit back down" the nurse went to grab his arm to help guide him but he automatically pulled away from her touch. Luckily he landed squarly on one of the chairs anyway.

"Are you okay?" she asked concern furrowing her brow.

"Yeah I'm fine" it was coming easier now, that time it didn't feel like acid was pooling in his stomach at the word "How's Kurt, has he woken up yet?"

"I'm sorry I don't know anything else I was just coming to check on you actually".

"Me? No I told you I'm fine" he was going to have to come up with a new line soon or people we're going to start getting suspicious, just as he was starting to get used to it aswell.

"Well you don't look it and that's quite a nasty cut above your eye, it might even need some stitches".

Blaine frowned and reached a hand up to his forehead and hissed when his hand came in contact with the jagged edged of a cut, his mind flashed to the image of being pushed to the floor amongst broken bottles, he wondered if he had any more cuts on him, his whole body felt sore and bruised but he didn't think there was anything else requiring stitches hidden under his clothing.

"Let me take you back into a cubicle and get you checked over".

Blaine shook his head violently at the suggestion, "no, no I don't want to leave here, it's just that cut I'm fine, really."

"Well you have to let me treat that, otherwise it'll scar and we don't want to ruin that pretty face of yours do we" she smiled at him again, completly oblivious to the impact of what she'd said.

Blaine almost threw up as those words reverberated in his head "pretty face of yours" only it wasn't her voice he heard right now but theirs. For a moment he could feel fingers gripping his chin tightly and pulling his head forward.

He blinked quickly in the harsh lights and looked up to see the nurse looking down at him with concern. Why did these places always have to have flurescent lighting anyway, just to add to the overall shitty experience probably.

"Are you okay?" god how many times was he going to hear that question and how many times was he going to have to lie when he answered. He just nodded, not willing to trust his resolve at the minute.

"Come on let's get that sorted and we'll see where we go from there. I'm Kate by the way, what did you say your name was?"

Blaine opened his mouth to speak but before he could it was done for him.

"Blaine" Burt almost shouted as he came barrelling into the room Carol close behind him. "Where is he, where's Kurt? What the hell happened."

Once again Blaine, one of the most articulate boys any of them knew, found himself at a loss for words.

-

Burt had driven like a madman to the hospital and Carole found herself just running along in his wake as he bolted for the entrance to the hospital.

A quick inquiry at the desk sent Burt running down the corridor towards the waiting room and the only person who seemed to have any answers for him at the minute.

"Blaine" Burt knew he was losing it but he couldn't seem to reign himself back in. "Where is he, where's Kurt? What the hell happened?"

In his worked up state Burt failed to take in the state of the boy in front of him but Carole saw it all. Blaine was wearing the dark jeans and brown jacket that he'd left the house in earlier, only now both were filthy. He had the jacket done right up to his neck and so every part of him other then his hands and face were covered up, but that was enough to see something terrible had happened to the boy. His normally smooth olive complexion was already starting to look bruised and swollen and his lip was split. Blood had coated one side of his face and ran down the shoulder of his coat. She could see that it had come from a nasty cut on his forehead that would probably require stitching. She looked down to where his hands were clasped tightly in his lap and saw they were covered in blood, more than there should be judging by the relatively small cuts and scrapes she could see on them. She could see that they were trembling and her mothering instinct took over.

"Blaine honey" she crouched down in front of him and reached to take his hands in hers, she stopped when he pulled his hands away sharply. Looking up into his golden brown eyes, one of which was already starting to swell shut, she was shocked at the fear she saw there. Fighting the instinct to touch the clearly terrified boy she chose to sit down next to him instead, even then she felt him move away from her slightly.

"What happened, who was driving?" Burt asked, his voice a lot calmer now that he could see how shaken up Blaine was.

Blaine started to shake his head at the question and when he spoke both of them were shocked at how the normally smooth voiced young man sounded.

"We...we didn't even make it to the car.." he started to say, his voice rasping over the words.

"I thought you were in an accident" Burt blurted out, confusion showing on his face.

"No" Blaine almost whispered, he cleared his throat and it sounded almost painful to Carole. "No accident".

"Then what the hell..."

"Some guys, they...followed us from the cinema and then they just..." Blaine trailed off, didn't know how to say it. Didn't know how to tell this man what had happened, what he'd let happen.

Carole could see Burt's face getting red and she reached out her hand to calm him down before his blood pressure went through the roof.

"Who?" he managed to bite out between gritted teeth. "Was it that Karovfsky kid?"

Blaine shook his head "no I didn't recognise them but they weren't high school kids, they were much older" he tried not to picture their faces leering at him. He didn't know them from before but he knew that he'd never forget their faces now.

"How many?" Burt was trying to keep his anger in check but the thought of grown men attacking his son made him feel sick.

"Three" Blaine seemed to be fixated on his hands and Carole resisted the urge to cry at how broken he looked right now.

"Son of a bitch, why, why would they come after you?" Burt said and Blaine could hear their mocking voices in his head _Ahh look at the two little boys, how sweet, holding hands and everything_. He shook his head trying to get them to shut up.

"Burt" Carole said seeing Blaine's eyes glaze over "maybe we can save those questions for later".

"Yes I really need to stitch that cut" Nurse Kate said from off to the side where she'd stood unobtrusively whilst the conversation played out.

"I need to wait and see Kurt" Blaine protested.

"Go honey we'll come and fetch you when we know something" Carol saw the doubt in his eyes "I promise".

"Okay" Blaine accepted reluctantly stood up to follow Kate from the room. Burt sat down and put his head in his hands whilst Carole watched the weary boy slowly make his way out of the room.

"Oh god Carole" Burt said whilst still looking down at the floor. "How could this have happened, who would beat up two boys like that and where is the damn doctor with news on Kurt?".

Carole placed her hands and top of Burt's and gave him the only answer she had for now "I don't know".

A/N; First it was so hard writing mom instead of mum a couple might have slipped through and St Rita's is the name of an actual hospital in Lima (get me doing research) and whilst I'm sure there probably is a nurse named Kate there I don't know her.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N; okay page breaks didn't work on the last one so I hope it wasn't too confusing. I'm going to try something else for this one, hope it doesn't look weird. And not owning it, I own that.

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

It felt like an age later before anyone else disturbed the quiet of the waiting room. Carole and Burt both stood as a doctor in a white coat made his way over to them.

"Are you here for Kurt Hummel?" he asked checking his notes to make sure the name was correct.

"Yes we're his parents" Carole confirmed. Okay maybe technically that wasn't true but in every way that mattered that's how Carole felt.

"How is he?" Burt needed to know now.

"He took a pretty hard blow to the head and he's still unconscious. " Carole's hand automatically went to her mouth at the news. The doctor continued though "However we've run some tests and it doesn't look like there's any bleeding on the brain or any kind of permanent damage so we just need to wait for him to wake up in his own time".

"How long will that be?" Burt asked.

"Sometime tomorrow I would expect, if it takes any longer we may have to run some more tests, but we'll just have to wait and see".

Burt nodded his head at this, waiting for the rest of his sons injuries to be explained.

"He has quite a few significant cuts and bruises but the one we are most concerned about was the piece of glass that was embedded in his thigh, I'm afraid it nicked a fairly major artery and it took us awhile to stem the bleeding, we're on top of it now but we'll need to give him some blood to replace what was lost. He's also got a couple of broken fingers, but again they we're easy to set. All in all Mr Hummel despite appearances he came out of this not too badly".

"You're joking right, that all seems pretty serious to me" he said to the young male doctor in front of him, incredulous that the man was making this seem mundane.

Burt bit back a sob. People he'd never even met had done this to his son and Burt figured he had a pretty good idea why. Kurt should be able to be who he wants to be and date who he wants to without narrow minded yobs trying to kill him for it.

"I'm sorry, I just meant that considering the nature of his injuries they're all quite easily treatable and with time he should be as good as new" the doctor tried to make ammends.

"I doubt that" Burt muttered under his breath. The other man didn't seem to be taking into account how traumatic this attack would have been and Kurt's mental state at all.

"Can we see him?" Carole asked the next question that was on Burt's mind.

"Of course I'll get a nurse to take you to his room".

Carole thanked him and he left.

A nurse showed up within minutes and led the shell-shocked couple through the seemingly endless corridors to the side of their injured son's bed.

Burt immediately took his sons uninjured hand in his being careful not to jostle the IV that was taped to the back of down on his son he was taken aback by how young he looked just laying there, his small, thin frame seemed lost in the vast expanse of the hospital bed. Unlike Blaine Kurt's face wasn't too badly bruised and he really did just look like he was sleeping.

Carole stood behind her husband and placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to reassure him just with her touch.

"Oh God Carole" Burt choked on the words "he's going to be okay isn't he?"

Carole only hesitated for a split second before she told the man she loved what she knew he needed to hear.

"He's going to be just fine, once he wakes up we'll all be here for him, to help him no matter what he needs".

Burt leaned forward until his head was resting next to where his hands loosely grasped his son's much more delicate one and they all stayed like that for a while, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Carole watched the slow steady inhalations of the boy she'd come to love as much as her own son. Looking at the hospital gown she smiled to herself thinking about how horrified the fashionable young man would be at the thought of anyone seeing him dressed like this, especially Blaine. Oh God Blaine, she realised with a twinge of guilt that she's completely forgotten about the other boy.

"I need to go find Blaine" she whispered to Burt squeezing his shoulder gently.

"Ok" Burt's voice was muffled.

Giving the pair of them one last look she left them alone closing the door gently behind her.

* * *

><p>It seemed to take forever for Carole to find her way back to where she knew the treatment area was. She was looking around for someone to ask where she could find Blaine when she spotted the nurse that had led him away earlier.<p>

"Excuse me" she called rushing to catch up with her before she disappeared around the corner.

"Yes?" the young woman turned with a polite smile on her face before she remembered who she was "oh you we're with Blaine".

"Yes can you tell me where he is?"

"Follow me I was just heading back to him" they started to walk down the corridor together. "How's his..." she trailed off not sure what the connection between Blaine and Kurt was.

"Boyfriend" Carole filled her in. "Kurt's his boyfriend and I think he's going to okay we'll know more when he wakes up though."

"Oh good that's all Blaine would talk about, maybe now he'll let me have a proper look at him."

"What do you mean?" Carole asked concerned.

"He let me clean and stitch the cut on his forehead but other than that, nothing. In fact he wouldn't even let me take his clothes off to check him over."

"Can he do that?"

"Well I can't force him and I don't think there's anything too major hiding under there but I would feel better if he'd at least let me have a look. Well here we are" she stopped outside a cubicle and pulled the curtain aside revealing a very different looking Blaine to the one Carole was used to.

He was normally so well put together with his slicked back hair and dapper demeanour, sometimes it was easy to think he was much older than he actually was. But right now he just looked like a lost little boy. His face was now clean of blood which just made the bruising stand out more and a fresh white bandage was taped to his forehead hiding the wound she'd seen earlier. The gel that normally kept his curls controlled had mostly gone and a riot of curls stood up all over his head adding to the little boy look. Carole wanted to take him in her arms and hold him but remembering his reaction earlier she held back.

"Blaine" she said gently to get his attention from the bed that he was sitting on, even that one word seemed to make him jump though.

When he looked up and saw who was there he only had one thing on his mind.

"Where is he? Can I see him? Is he awake yet?" the questions came thick and fast and Carole barely had chance to process them all.

"He's not awake yet" she saw the way Blaine's shoulders dropped at the news so she quickly added "but the doctors seem to think it shouldn't be too long."

"So he's going to be okay?" Blaine couldn't keep the hope out of his voice and Carole once again found herself in the position of deciding to tell someone what they needed to hear.

"Yes I think so. But what about you Blaine, the nurse here says you won't let her check you over" she watched as Blaine's eyes flicked over towards the other woman in the cubicle with a look of betrayal on his face.

"That's because I'm fine" and Carole raised her eyebrows at him.

"I mean Kurt's the one that got hurt, I just really need to see him. I swear they didn't hurt me" Carole could see how hard Blaine was trying to convince her that he was okay, even though he stumbled over those last few words. She could see the carefully constructed mask he normally wore slipping back into place. She'd never realised before how much of an act this boy put on, always polite and well spoken, trying so hard to please everyone. Now she's seen below it though she found herself wondering how well she really knew this boy or even how well he knew himself.

She rubbed a weary hand over the back of her neck putting aside all the questions she had for now, there would be plenty of time for them later and she realised that if she was being honest with herself she really didn't have the energy to deal with any of it right now.

"What about your parents Blaine, have you rang them".

"Yes" Blaine seemed relieved that she was letting it drop for now.

"Are they on their way?" she asked when he didn't volunteer any more information.

"They're in Italy" he explained looking down at the bed again.

"Oh I guess it'll take them a while to get back here then". Blaine didn't answer so she took that as a yes.

"Can I please see Kurt now" Blaine pleaded.

Knowing that she wasn't going to be able to convince him to get checked over she turned to the nurse " Is that okay?"

"Well if you don't want me to check you over" Blaine shook his head again "then yes I guess so." she didn't seem very happy about it, but what could she do.

Carole watched as Blaine gingerly eased himself down from the bed and took note when he refused her offer of help.

Carole led the way as they made their way back to Kurt's room in silence.

* * *

><p>AN; I hope this isn't boring, I know where it's going and I don't want to rush it too much. The last story I wrote (an age ago) has always left me wishing I'd taken more time with it and added more detail and I don't want to do that with this one too. Also the hospital stuff and probably any police stuff later on will probably seem clumsy but I'll do the best I can.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N; This is probably set at the beginning of the summer break if anyone was wondering. Also holy crap, thank you so much to everyone who has either reviewed, alerted or favourited this, kisses and squeezes to you all.

Still don't own them, never will, yadda, yadda, yadda.

* * *

><p>Chapter Four<p>

Blaine's heart was in his mouth as he followed his boyfriend's stepmother into the dimly lit hospital room. He could see Burt's form hunched over the bed, his hands grasping the pale lifeless hand of the most important person in Blaine's life. Kurt looked so pale, with his porcelain skin, just laying there in that bed that he almost didn't look real, more like a life size mannequin.

Blaine had to resist the urge to rush over and kiss his boyfriend on the lips. Kurt the sleeping beauty who would wake from his slumber when the lips of his beloved met his. But Blaine knew this was no fairytale and he could never be Kurt's Prince Charming, not now.

Carole walked over to where Burt sat hunched but he hesitated in the doorway, not sure where he fit in.

Carole turned to him and smiled encouragingly, beckoning him over to the bed. He found himself sitting carefully down in the chair that was pulled up on the other side of the bed to both of them. He tentavily reached his hand out to lay it on the uncovered arm of the other boy. Seeing his hand, still coated in both his and Kurt's blood, laying against the perfect skin of his boyfriend's arm he couldn't help the sob that broke free.

"I'm so sorry Kurt" he choked out. Hearing those words Burt looked up, finally realising that he wasn't alone anymore. Seeing the boy across from him barely holding it together made it even harder to keep a tight grip on his own emotions.

"Blaine" he spoke drawing the attention of the stricken boy "can you tell me what happened tonight?"

The dark haired boys eyed flashed with fear and Burt almost felt bad for asking the question, but he needed to know.

"I don't know... I don't know how to..." Blaine trailed off.

"Why did they go after you two? Do you know that at least?" Carole asked although she had a suspision she knew the answer to that question already.

Blaine sat there in silence for a minute trying to decide what to say and how to say it. He could just tell them what they needed to know. He didn't have to tell them everything he realised, it wouldn't be lying, just maybe not the whole truth. Just enough to satisfy them and as for the rest, well nobody but him ever needed to know that. He could keep that for himself, keep it safe, keep it hidden and then maybe he wouldn't have to think about it ever again.

He took a deep, shaky breath and all of a sudden every ache and pain in his body made themselves known, including those he was trying so hard to ignore. In that moment he could feel himself on the edge of a precipice and he knew that if he didn't hold on, that if he allowed himself to fall he might never make it back. He closed his eyes and took another breath, all the while he could feel Burt and Carole's eyes on him waiting for him to speak.

"It was my fault" he finally said looking up and meeting Burt's eyes as he said those words.

Burt didn't say anything just narrowed his eyes and waited for him to explain.

"We got out of the movie about 9.30 and I wanted to go get coffee as we still had time." Once he started speaking he found that the rest just kept spilling out. "I reached down and held his hand and I think that's probably what drew their attention. We we're just walking out of the doors and they started taunting to us so we just kept walking, trying to ignore them. But...but they followed us and when we got to the alleyway at the side they grabbed us and dragged us down there, away from the lights. I don't really remember the details, it happened so quickly" he didn't meet their eyes as he told this lie. "But they pushed us around a bit and I remember us both being on the ground at some point and I heard Kurt scream when one of them stamped on his fingers." Burt's jaw clenched atthat." Then one of them had hold of me." He trailed off as the memories were starting to take over now and he could smell the sweat of the men and blood and he could feel someone's breath on his neck.

Carole saw how distressed he was getting "Blaine it's okay, it's over now".

Blaine shook his head at the words knowing that it would never really be over. He carried on with the story, wanting to get it over as quickly as he could. "Then Kurt ran at them trying to help me and one of them just grabbed him and threw him into the side of the dumpster and he must have hit his head because he just dropped like a stone." Now for the big lie. "I think that scared them because they ran off then. I went over to Kurt and sat with him for awhile before I realised that we needed help and so I called for an ambulance." There he'd said it now he just had to hope they wouldn't question it too much.

He didn't need to look at them to feel their eyes boring into him, he knew they would have more questions, that he hadn't really told them anything. He just hoped it was enough for now. That they wouldn't probe too deeply. He was too tired and in too much pain to be able to say more without letting something slip, and that could not happen. Not now, not ever. He just needed to forget and then everything would be okay.

Blaine looked at them both again and could see the questions they were dying to ask " I know you want to know more, but can it wait for now" he pleaded. "I don't think I can talk about it anymore right now, it hurts to talk". That at least was the truth. The swelling in his throat had gotten worse as the evening wore on and it was getting hard to speak, his voice was a quiet, painful rasp now. But it wasn't just the physical pain he was talking about.

Burt gave him a look that spoke volumes about the fact that he would need more from him eventually and then nodded in acceptance. They all went back to watching Kurt sleep on, oblivious to the pain and suffering of those gathered around him.

* * *

><p>Carole watched as Blaine's head kept dropping from exhaustion. She glanced down at her watch she saw that it was almost 3am.<p>

"Burt I think I need to take Blaine home" she broke the silence.

"No" Blaine sat up, suddenly wide awake " I want to stay here".

"You're exhausted Blaine "Carole explained gently "and I'm sure you'd like to get cleaned up" she gestured towards his matted hair and clothes.

"But what if he wakes up?" Blaine continued to protest.

"Then I will call you straight away" Burt joined the conversation. "How do you think Kurt would feel if he woke up and saw you looking like that. He'd never forgive me for not taking care of you and I'm not willing to put up with his bitch face even for you". Burt smiled at the thought of one of Kurt's huffs, He'd give everything to be on the receiving end of one of Kurt's tantrums right now.

"Come on Blaine" Carole continued "I'll take you back to our house, you can have a shower, something to eat and some sleep. That way when Kurt wakes up you'll be in a much better position to help him get over this. Burt's right, it would only upset him to see you like this."

Blaine finally admitted defeat and nodded at them. "Okay". He didn't want to leave but he was itching to rid himself of the ruined clothes he was wearing. He couldn't wait to wash the blood and filth from his body along with the smell. Just thinking about it made him feel sick again, God their stink was all over him. He'd never felt dirtier in his whole life but he couldn't help thinking that a shower wasn't going to change that, he couldn't imagine ever feeling clean again.

"Will you be okay honey?" Carole asked her almost as exhausted looking husband.

"Yeah you guys go ahead. You need to be there for Finn in the morning anyway, so you can explain what's happened."

Carole almost laughed at the ridiculousness of that statement. How could she explain it when she didn't understand it herself. How could it be possible to understand the cruelty people were capable of. She dreaded telling Finn, of destroying some of his innocence. Sure they all knew that there was evil in the world but it was another thing to experience it first hand. She knew that not only the two boys but everyone who was close to them would be irrevocably changed by what had happened tonight. That their view of the world would always be tainted now.

She leaned down to kiss her husband on the cheek with tears in her eyes and then bent over further to do the same to Kurt.

Blaine rose slowly from his chair, his fingers reluctantly trailing along his boyfriends arm before walking over to Carole's side with a sigh.

" You promise you'll call?" Blaine asked from the doorway.

"I promise Blaine". Burt said turning back to watch his son. He heard the door shut quietly behind him and then the two of them were alone.

* * *

><p>As Carole pulled the car onto the driveway she was startled to see so many downstairs lights on. For a moment she was worried that Finn had woken up and realised that they were all missing before remembering that in their rush to get to the hospital they hadn't stopped to turn them off.<p>

"We're here Blaine" she said to the boy beside her making him jump slightly. She was suprised that he hadn't fallen asleep on the drive home, but had instead spent the whole time staring out of the side window as if avoiding her gaze.

They made their way into the house and Carole couldn't believe how normal it looked. How could everything be as they'd left it, it didn't seem right that it could still be the same when everything else had now changed.

"Do you want anything to eat?" she asked the weary boy beside her, but Blaine just shook his head. "I'll just show you where the guest room is then".

They made their way upstairs and she pointed out the door at the end of the corridor on the left. Blaine walked towards it as if on autopilot. She quickly nipped into Kurt's room, trying not to pay attention to anything whilst she was in there. She grabbed some pajamas out of his cupboard and quickly made her way back to the guest room. Blaine was stood just inside the door as if at a loss for what to do.

"There's towels in the bathroom and don't worry if you get that bandage wet we'll sort it out in the morning. Just take a shower and try to get some sleep, okay?" she suddenly felt awkward standing there. Not sure what to do she smiled gently at the boy and gave in to the urge she had to hug him. She let go as soon as she felt him tense in her arms.

"Night Blaine" she said and shutting the door behind her she swiftly walked down the corridor to her own bedroom. She managed to shut the door and make it over to the bed before she fell apart. The soft bedding muffled the sound of her sobs as she buried her face in them.

* * *

><p>Blaine looked down at the sleepwear in his hands before placing them on the bed and heading towards the bathroom automatically. He looked in the mirror as he removed the bandage from his forehead revealing the still angry, but now much neater looking cut underneath. The bruising was coming out on his face and his eye was now completely swollen. He pulled the collar of his coat down to reveal the angry bruising that surrounded his neck. He could just make out what looked like hand prints in amongst the mottled mess and felt his stomach turn over at the sight. He turned quickly away from the mirror avoiding eye contact.<p>

He cautiously started to remove his clothing. First to come off was his jacket revealing the torn and stained t-shirt below. Next he peeled off the tight dark jeans and let them fall to the floor next to his jacket. He winced as he pulled the ruined t-shirt over his head, the action pulling his ribs and igniting a fire in them. He was pretty sure they weren't broken as he could breath ok but they still hurt like a bitch. Finally he removed his socks and boxers, he refused to look at them as they dropped to the floor with everything else. As soon as he was naked he turned the shower on as hot as it would go and stepped under the almost scalding stream of water. He picked up the shampoo bottle and proceeded to wash the grime and left over gel out of his naturally curly locks. His fingers ghosted over the sore spots trying not to rub too hard. Next he grabbed a washcloth and rubbed the soap on it. He could feel a million little cuts and some not so little ones stinging as he rubbed the cloth over his body. The water turned red and swilred away around his feet. Despite his best efforts to switch off his mind refused to let him and kept flashing up images to taunt him. He could feel fingers digging into his hips, hot breath on his neck, he could hear cruel laughter and worse. The more he scrubbed the worse it got and he knew that there was nothing he could do that would leave him feeling clean. With that realisation he dropped the cloth and sank to the bottom of the shower cubicle. He sat on the the floor with his arms wrapped around his pulled up knees. The water continued to pound down on him and as it ran down his face it mingled with his tears and washed them away.

* * *

><p>AN; I know the description of what happened was a bit basic but if you haven't guessed already there's a lot more to the story that Blaine isn't telling yet.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N;Okay I've realised that some people might have started reading this without realising what it's going to be about. I probably should have put a warning in the summary but I think that ruins the suspense, so I apologise to anyone offended by what I'm writing. So just for the record this story deals with very dark themes and I'm still not going to say what exactly, although most have you have figured it out.( I'm not that subtle lol.) I got a bit worried about how serious what I'm writing about is and the real life ramifications of such an act, but I would just like to point out that it is fiction at the end of the day and the main purpose is to explore how the characters we love handle this sort of situation and to enjoy the angst that it creates. I obviously don't condone this sort of thing in real life. Hope that didn't sound like a rant.

slight spoiler for Prom Queen, nothing major I don't think

If I said I owned them what would actually happen I wonder.

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

The light spilling in through the thin curtains woke Blaine from his restless sleep. He had a vague recollection of sitting on the floor of the shower until the water turned cold and his body was covered in goosebumps. It was only once he'd become comfortably numb that he'd managed to pull himself together enough to climb from the shower and dry himself off. As exhausted as he'd been when he'd finally curled up under the cover a combination of worrying about Kurt, the pain in his body and the sickening images running through his head stopped him from ever really being able to nod off. Instead he'd spent the night tossing and turning, wishing for the night to be over so he could go back to the hospital and see Kurt.

He sat up groaning as all his aches and pains made themselves known. The pain in his ribs took his breath at first and he had to take shallow breaths until it eased off. Looking around he saw that Carole must have snuck in at some point and left him some clean clothes to change into. He wondered briefly who they belonged to as none of the men of the house were a similar physical type to him, as long as they weren't Finn's though he should be okay. He got off the bed quickly as a thought occured to him. Rushing over to the bathroom he threw open the door and almost collapsed in relief at seeing the pile of clothes he'd taken off last night where he'd left them. He was worried that Carole might have collected them up to wash them and he couldn't let her see them up close, it would bring up too many questions. As he gathered them up the smell alone almost made him gag. He looked around frantically for somewhere he could hide them until he could dipsose of them later. He finally settled on stuffing them right at the back of the closet, he just had to hope that with everything that was going on no one would need to go in there. At least until he could collect them and burn them or something.

He removed the black pyjamas smiling slightly at the Hugo Boss tag in the neck, he might know Kurt would never be seen in anything that didn't have a designer label. He was glad for the colour though as it meant the blood didn't show up on it too much. Looking down at his body he could see that a few cuts were still oozing and that he'd probably have to do something about them soon, he might be at risk of infection otherwise. Of course the simple answer would be to let someone know he was hurt and get himself checked over, but even without looking too closely he could tell that some of the marks covering his body told a story he didn't want told. No, best to keep quiet. It's not as if he had anything life threatening wrong, in fact most of the cuts had scabbed over by themselves anyway. He was grateful that there was a dark t-shirt and a long sleeved hoody to wear though, those should help to hide any blood that came through.

Dressed and feeling sligtly more human he picked up his cell phone from where he'd left it on the bedside table checking to see if he'd had any messages. There was one missed call from Wes and he was glad he'd not heard it, as he didn't know how to even begin to tell him what had happened last night. He was a little bit disapointed, but not exactly suprised, that there were no messgages from his parents. Admittedly he hadn't really told his mother too much but she hadn't really asked much either. He couldn't help thinking that most parents would be concerned that their son had been attacked regardless, but then again he didn't have most parents. He could imagine that his mother was concerned that this was going to be like the last time this had happened and all the embarresment that had brought their family. His father had been mortified to discover that his son had been beaten up for taking another boy to a school dance, much more concerned about people finding out he had a gay son than that his only child was injured. It was what had eventually led to him transferring to Dalton. He was supposed to feel safe now, what a joke that was. He should have realised cruelty doesn't end in High School, that was just the training ground for it. Thinking about his father's reaction that time only strengthened his resolve to keep what had really happened last night to himself. He could only imagine the disappointment and disgust he would have to face if his father found out. No he would just have to deal with it on his own.

Pocketing his cell phone and taking as deep a breath as he could he turned the handle of the door and left the guest room, hoping he was strong enough to face what the day would bring him.

* * *

><p>Blaine made his way slowly down the stairs, feeling a little nervous all of a sudden. He was very aware that this wasn't his home. If it wasn't for his deperate need to find out about Kurt he would have quite gladly hidden in the guest room for the rest of the day.<p>

Reaching the bottom of the stairs voices drew him towards the kitchen. As he walked through the doorway the conversation broke off as Carole saw him. Her hand immediatly went to her mouth as tears came unbidden to her eyes at the sight of him.

Seeing his mom's reaction Finn twisted round in his and his mouth dropped open at what he was seeing.

"Holy crap" he muttered under his breath.

Blaine tried to smile, but it streched the cut in his lip making him wince instead. Carole moved over to him, her hand reaching out as though to touch.

"Oh Blaine, your neck" she couldn't seem to take her eyes of the deep purple bruising that encircled his throat. "I knew I shouldn't have let you leave the hospital without getting properly checked over, why didn't you tell us?"

"It looks worse than it feels" Blaine tried to say but the lie was somewhat hard to pull off when his voice came out in such a strangled whisper.

"What about anywhere else?" and for a panic filled moment Blaine was sure she was going to insist on him removing his sweatshirt so she could have a look.

"No, no. I got lucky, just this" he pointed to his visible injuries. He took a step backwards just in case though.

"You call that lucky?"Finn said raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"I'm not the one who's unconcious" Blaine regretted the harsh words as soon as they left his mouth. Especially when he saw Finn blanche at them.

Finn was shocked at how bitter Blaine sounded. His mom had already told him what had happened last night, When Blaine had entered the room they had been in the middle of discussing whether he should let the other members of New Directions know what was happening. His mom had persuaded him to wait until Kurt woke up. That way they wouldn't be worrying them any more than neccessary. Finn knew that in the very least Mercedes would be pissed at him for not telling her sooner. But he agreed with his mom that they had enough to deal with now without adding a bunch of scared and confused teenagers to the mix. He was struggling to get his own head around it right now and seeing the mess that those guys had made of Blaine's face made him feel angrier than he had ever thought himself capable of.

"Have you heard anything?" Blaine rasped out. Just listening to him speak made Finn wince in sympathy. He found himself staring at the bruises that covered the curly haired boys neck. They almost looked like..., oh my god, were they hand prints? He looked up slightly in shock to find Blaine looking at him intently. As their eyes met something flashed in Blaine's one good eye before he looked away quickly as though ashamed.

"Not yet" Carole spoke again. "Come and sit down" she gestured towards the empty stool next to Finn's. "I'll get you some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry" Blaine protested and Finn could tell that it was going against every one of his mom's instincts not to argue with Blaine, but for some reason she didn't. It made him wonder why she wasn't pushing Blaine about anything. He couldn't imagine her letting him leave the hospital without getting checked out first. Maybe it was because Blaine wasn't her son but he got the feeling it was more to do with the fact that he always came across as being very capable of looking after himself. It was easy to forget that they were all the same age because Blaine always semmed much older than him. If he was being honest, since he'd met him he'd been a little bit in awe of the other teen, at how cool and collected he was. He wished he could be as sure of who he was as Blaine seemed to be.

"Well at least have some orange juice, it might help your throat" Carole voice interupted Finn's musings. Blaine nodded and as Carole went to the fridge to get the juice Finn watched as the much shorter boy made his way over to his side. The way Blaine held himself and then carefully sat down next to him set alarm bells ringing for Finn. The quarterback had had his fair share of injuries and he was pretty sure that Blaine was lying about not being hurt anywhere else. He couldn't figure out why he would be lying but he was pretty sure he was. He wanted to call Blaine out on it but he didn't know how to ask. After all why hadn't Blaine said anything already, what had he got to hide? Unless there was more to the story that he wasn't telling. But what could have happened that Blaine didn't want to say? What did he have to feel gulity about... unless. Finn's mind went into overdrive. What if Blaine knew more than he was saying, maybe Kurt being hurt was something to do with Blaine. Finn didn't want to think bad things about Blaine but right now all he could think about was the fact that his brother was laying in a hospital bed and the one person who knew what had happened to him was lying. What other conclusion could he come too other than that Blaine was somewhat responsible for what had happened.

Again Finn's thoughts were interupted, but this time it was by the ringing of the phone. Everyone jumped at the shrill noise before Carole quickly grabbed the handset of the wall.

"Hello" the two boys both started to rise from their seats in anticipation. "He is, oh thank god" Carole slumped against the wall in relief. "Yes we'll be right there. Tell him we're coming and... that we all love him" she hung up the phone said the two words they's all been waiting to hear.

"Kurt's awake".

* * *

><p>AN; luckily PROM QUEEN aired before i came up with my own idea for something that happened in Blaine's past, saved me from having to create something, I do like it when i can keep it closer to what happens on the show. Also I don't dislike Finn, in fact I don't dislike anyone in the show, but his reaction fits my story better this way for now.

i actually already wrote a little one shot based around that incident based off a scene in that episode, called Digging a little deeper, check it out. also talking of checking things out if you haven't already, take a look at my mind twin katiek723 and her story Help. if you like mine you'll love hers.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay I have a favour to ask. If anyone reading this story has a user name beginning with q or z could you put it on alert. it's just then I'll have someone from every letter of the alphabet and for some reason that would make me very happy. i'm weird by the way.

Here's Kurt, hope I do him justice, although my excuse if anyone seems ooc is that they've got a lot to deal with, lol.

Own them? Nope.

* * *

><p>Chapter Six<p>

The journey to the hospital passed in silence, each of the cars occupants lost in their own thoughts.

Blaine sat in the back of the car staring out of the window at the passing countryside. It was a beautiful summers day but he could see dark clouds on the horizon, pregnant with the promise of rain. He welcomed the coming onslaught as it suited his mood better than the cheery sunshine right now.

He felt like his heart was torn in two. He longed to see Kurt, to know that he was allright, but he was also terrified. What would Kurt remember about what had happened, would he hate Blaine for not being able to protect him. Even if he couldn't remember the previous nights events Blaine had a feeling that one look at him and Kurt would know what had happened. Blaine didn't want to see pity in his boyfriend's beautiful pale eyes but what he feared most was to see disgust there. What if Kurt could just tell how dirty he was now, what if he hated him for ruining everything?

Before he knew it Carole was pulling the car into a space in front of the hospital and he was trailing along behind mother and son as they entered the imposing building. He was glad that Carole remembered the way to Kurt's room as he was sure he would have gotten lost in the seemingly endless miles of monotonous corridors. The two teenagers waited nervously as Carole knocked lightly on the door. It was opened almost immediately and instead of inviting them in Burt stepped out into the hallway to join them.

"Is Kurt okay?" a worried sounding Finn said.

"Yes I just didn't want everyone rushing in there and scaring him. He's still a bit tired and groggy, partly from the painkillers." Burt explained. "He doesn't remember much about what happened but he remembers you guys we're attacked" Burt turned to Blaine. "He's desperate to see you, I told him you we're okay but I guess he needs to see for himself."

Blaine nodded knowing exactly how Kurt felt, because until he saw those beautiful pale blue/green eyes looking back at him he wouldn't be able to breath either.

"Come on, let's go see him". Burt smiled at them opening the door behind him.

Carole was the first to approach the bed and a tired looking Kurt.

"Oh sweetie I'm so glad you're okay, we've been so worried" she gushed. She leaned down and gave the pale boy a gentle squeeze and a kiss on the cheek.

Blaine stood at the door of the room watching Kurt's family surround him, his heart aching a little bit at the sight. He loved his boyfriend with all his heart but he couldn't help feeling a spark of jealousy. The concern and love in the room was almost overwhelming and Blaine felt like an outsider.

Finn was the next to approach the bed and he put his fist out, smiling that adorable goofy smile of his as Kurt gently fist bumped him with his good hand.

All the time that Kurt was interacting with his family Blaine could see that he was looking around as though searching for something else. Then his eyes fell on Blaine.

"Blaine" it came out as a sob as he took in the mess that Blaine's face was now. Just that one word was enough to overide all of Blaine's fears and worries and he was by his boyfriends side in a heartbeat.

"Hi" he spoke quietly.

"Oh my god Blaine what did they do to you?" Kurt raised his hand as though to touch his face and Blaine couldn't help taking an involuntary step backwards. Seeing the hurt and confusion in Kurt's eyes at his reaction he was immediatly angry at himself. This was Kurt goddamn it. He reached down and took the other boys uninjured hand in his . The feel of Kurt's soft skin against the roughness of his own almost made him want to weep. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to climb up onto the bed beside him and have him hold him, to let him chase the darkness away. Instead he settled for perching on the edge of the bed still keeping a firm grip on the slender hand.

"Nothing as bad as what they did to you?" he managed to say in response to the question that Kurt had asked what seemed a lifetime ago. He refused to look him in the eye as he lied to him. He couldn't believe he'd just done that, but he wanted to be with Kurt so badly and telling the truth would make that an impossibility. He couldn't risk losing the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Why...why did this happen?" Kurt asked, the pain in his voice almost breaking what was left of Blaine's shredded heart. "What did we do to deserve this?" tears we're running freely down his face now.

"Nothing" Burt's angry voice came from beside them. "You boy's did nothing wrong. You should be allowed to love each other without some narrow minded, ignorant ass..." Carole put her hand on his arm and it pulled him up from the tirade he was about to go on. "I know you think this is somehow your fault Blaine but I want you to know right now that it isn't. You should be able to do something as simple as holding your boyfriend's hand without these sort of people thinking you need to be punished for it. I know this whole thing had been as scary as hell and it's going to take a long while to come back from it, but you will. I hope you boys don't let this define you from now on, because then these bastards will have won and I for one will not stand by and let that happen. Neither of you should ever feel guilty about loving each other."

Blaine was impressed by the older man's passionate speech, wanted to believe him when he said that none of it was his fault. There was only one small problem with it all though and that was Burt's assumption that the attack was homophobic in nature. If he knew the real reason those men had singled Kurt and Blaine out, he knew that Burt wouldn't be so quick to forgive him.

"Wow dad" Kurt's voice broke the silence that had fallen after Burt had stopped speaking "that was..." whatever he was about to say was interupted by someone knocking at the door.

A nurse popped his head round and spoke the words Blaine had been dreading hearing all day "The police are here they want to speak to you."

* * *

><p>Kurt lay in the bed watching his boyfriend sleep with his head resting next to their clasped hand. He resisted the urge to run his hand through the mess of curls that Blaine's hair was without gel. He knew Blaine couldn't be comfortable in that position but he didn't want to disturb the sleeping boy, he looked exhausted. He looked him over, eyes filling up at the bruises and cuts that marred his boyfriend's face and hands. Anger at the people who'd done this to them, to Blaine, rose up in him and he must have clenched his fingers because Blaine started to stir. He forced himself to relax and was rewarded with Blaine relaxing against him.<p>

The police hadn't stayed very long earlier, just long enough to take statements. Kurt had been frustrated with how little he remembered but had listened in horror to Blaine's account. The two policemen left with the usual rhetoric of how they would do everything they could to try and find the guys. But Kurt had seen the look of revulsion on one of their faces when he realised that he and Blaine were on a date when it happened and he doubted that the case would be at the top of their priorities. They hadn't even seemed that bothered that Blaine's parents weren't there whilst he gave his statement, satisfied that Burt and Carole could stand in for them. Once they had left Kurt had started to doze on and off as the painkillers he was on kicked in. Carole saw how tired he was and somehow managed to persuade Burt to go home with Finn for a while to get freshened up. His dad had protested at first until Kurt had joined in the arguement, his father had never really had been able to say no to him.

He'd heard Blaine and Carole talking as he's started to drop off again.

"When are your parents going to be back Blaine?" he heard Carole ask.

"Not before tomorrow" Blaine had answered and even in his sleep fuddeled state Kurt picked up on the fact that that wasn't really an answer.

"Well you can stay at our's tonight then, I don't want you going home to an empty house" Kurt loved that woman so much.

"Thanks" Kurt forced his eyes open again to see Blaine hadn't moved from his position next to him. He could see tears in the eye that wasn't swollen shut and he wanted to be able to comfort him but he couldn't keep his eyelids from drooping again.

"I'm going to go to the canteen, do you want to come?" Carole asked.

"I don't want to leave him" Blaine's words caused Kurt's heart to skip. He still couldn't believe that this wonderful, beautiful, perfect boy was his and that he seemed to love Kurt just as much as he loved him aswell. With those thoughts running through his head he'd allowed himself to succumb to the sleep that was trying to claim him.

He'd woken later to find himself in this position. Carole was still gone and for now it was just Blaine and himself. He remembered his dad's rules about being alone in a bedroom with Blaine but he knew Burt never imagined such a scenario as this. If nothing else the pain that was making itself known now that the painkillers were wearing off was a bit of a turn off. Still he'd love to just be able to kiss his boyfriend right now and maybe wrap his arms round his neck... something flashed at the back of Kurt's mind. He felt sick for a moment and an overwhelming feeling of dread. He tried to focus in on what he was feeling but every time he did it was as though his mind shied away from it, stopping him from looking too deeply. His normally smooth forehead crinkled up in concentration as he tried desperately to remember what happened, but as had been the case since he'd woken up that morning all he kept getting we're flashes of things. Pain and fear we're the two overrding things and thinking about it too hard made his stomach muscles clench and his heartbeat quicken. Just as he felt panic starting to take over him the door to his room opened and one of the last people he would have expected to see right then walked into the room.

* * *

><p>AN: I love to leave you hanging it would seem.. sorry about that, never for too long though.

Also I really wanted to write some amazing thing for Burt to say (he's just so fantastic on the show) but i just couldn't pull it off, hope it wasn't too crap.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thankyou agaain to all the lovely people who have alerted, favourited and reviewed this story. I am completely blown away.

Still don't own them, but I did cave the other day and buy the Warblers cd, can't believe how excited I was to hear Darren's voice in my car.

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><p>Chapter Seven<p>

Santana smoothed the skirt of her very short Candy striper outfit down and balancing the jug of water she was carrying in one hand she pushed the hospital room door open with her butt. There were only two people in the room at the minute. She looked first at the person visiting, although judging by the amount of bruising she could see on his face beneath the unruly mop of hair he looked like maybe he could do with a bed himself. She walked around the side of the bed to place the water on the nightstand before glancing at the bed's occupant. Luckily she had already put the glass jug down because she couldn't have been more shocked at the large pale eyes that she found herself looking into.

"Kurt, what the hell?" she exclaimed loudly and Kurt immediately put his hand up to shush her as the other person stirred slightly at her loud voice.

Realisation dawned as she took a better look at the other boy currently slumped across Kurt's bed holding tightly to his hand even in sleep.

"Is that Blaine?" she whispered, her head on one side as she took everything in. He was almost unrecognisable from the well groomed boy she was used to seeing. When she'd met him at Rachel's party she'd found him more than a little easy on the eyes, had all sorts of dirty thoughts about him. Yeah okay so that was never likely to happen considering they both played for the same team but she'd have considered a relapse for a chance at those sexy lips and just because he was gay aswell didn't mean he wouldn't have enjoyed what she had to offer, she was sure of that.

"My god what happened to you two? Did you wreck your car, I always said you drove like a girl?"

"No" Kurt said "some guys jumped us and..."

"Wait, people did this?" she was pointing at both of their injuries now and she could see Kurt was shocked by the fury in her eyes. He just nodded in response. "How...why?" she trailed off. Kurt was one of the gentlest people she knew and from what little she knew of Blaine he seemed much the same. It would be like kicking puppies . To think that someone had attacked the two of them shocked her to the core. She prided herself on always being so quick with some kind of sarcastic or cutting remark. Had earned her rightful place as Queen bitch once Quinn had gone all soft because of pregnancy hormones or some other lame excuse like that but right now she felt like crying.

She looked away for a minute to compose herself and then looked back at Kurt feeling a little bit more like herself, although there was still a pit of rolling anger in her stomach.

"Tell me what happened, and then I've got some phone calls to make."

* * *

><p>Finn knew it was a bad idea as soon as Burt mentioned it but what choice did he have , he could hardlly let the older man face it by himself. They had stopped to pick up Kurt's car before heading back to the hospital and then Burt had decided that he wanted to go see the alley, wanted to see the place that his son had been so visciously attacked the night before. Finn had tried to talk him out of it, tell him it wouldn't be good for his heart, it was bound to be upsetting for his stepfather. What he hadn't counted on was how much it would affect him aswell.<p>

Standing there in the gloom, surrounded by foul smell of rotting garbage watching Burt rubbing his hand over his face in horror he tried not to think about how terrifying the whole thing must have been. There were a couple of dumpsters and he found himself trying to figure out which one Kurt had been thrown against. His attention was drawn to Burt when he heard a loud sob escape the man's mouth and looking around he saw what had caused the man to lose control. Burt was crouched down on the floor amongst the filth and broken bottles staring at a dark red stain. Finn suddenly couldn't stand it any more and with a strangled half sob of his own ran towards the end of the alley and the bright sunlight that waited there. Once he could feel the warmth of the sun on his face he stopped and slumped against the wall. He rested his hands on his knees as he tried took deep breaths, trying to clear the disgusting smell of that place from his nose. He felt bad for abandoning Burt like that but he couldn't spend another minute down there, imagining what had happened . He didn't have to worry though as Burt appeared by his side wiping the tears from his own face.

"I'm sorry I just couldn't stand it down there, they must have been terrified. I just..." he trailed off unable to form the words to explain what that alley had made him feel.

"I know" Burt said crouching down next to him. "All I could think about was Blaine sitting there with Kurt waiting for help, he must have been so scared". Finn could see that Burt felt bad for not realising how much the other boy had been affected by all of this.

"Blaine's strong" he tried to reassure his stepfather.

"He's a seventeen year old kid who was beaten up and had to watch his boyfriend beaten up. Jesus his parent's aren't even here yet, what the hell was I thinking, I pretty much ignored him."

"You were worried about Kurt"

"Yes, but that's not enough of a reason. I don't think I've even asked him how he is?"

Finn knew that now was the moment he should mention his suspision that Blaine was hurt worse than he was letting on but he didn't wanted to upset Burt anymore than he already was. Seeing Kurt and Blaine in the hospital earlier he felt bad for thinking that any of this could be his fault, Blaine was clearly already blaming himself and Finn had a feeling that was more to do with his personality than with what had actually happened. Blaine seemed to feel the need to come across as the strong one, the one with all the answers and Finn knew that he had probably convinced himself that he should have protected Kurt better. It didn't really explain why he wouldn't let them know that he was hurt aswell though, unless in some sort of twisted way Blaine thought he deserved it. Finn's mind was all over the place again and he really wanted to be able to talk through some of this with someone. Not Burt though, he had enough on his mind right now.

Finn's cell phone rang making both of them jump. He stood up quickly, fumbling at his pocket trying to get the phone out. He looked at the name on the screen sighing as he saw whose name was there.

"Hi Mercedes" he said.

"Don't you hi me, what the hell happened to my boy and why am I only just finding out about it now?" her angry voice came back. Finn saw Burt grimace and knew the girl's voice was loud enough for him to hear. He rubbed a hand over his face, this was not going to be a fun conversation.

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><p>Blaine's phone rang waking him up with a start. He sat up to find Kurt's gaze on him.<p>

"Sorry" he started to apologize but Kurt interupted him.

"Don't be silly Blaine, plus it was kind of nice watching you sleep" Blaine saw Kurt's cheeks colour up as he realised how creepy that sounded. His phone rang again saving either of them from having to think of the next thing to say.

"Hadn't you better get that?" Kurt asked raising one eyebrow.

Blaine fumbled around in his pocket for a minute before he pulled his phone free. "It's my dad" he said and he saw Kurt frown at the defeated way he said it.

"I'll just take it in the hall" Blaine was out the door before Kurt could insist he stay. He really didn't want him overhearing anything that might be said.

He debated not answering but decided it was like a band aid better quick and clean than to drag it out and prolong the agony.

"Hello" he tried to make his voice sound as normal as possible.

"Blaine is that you?" guess he'd failed then if his own father couldn't recognise his voice.

"Yeah dad it's me".

"My god Blaine you sound awful?" his father actually sounded a little bit worried for a change.

"My throats a bit sore, that's all".

"Oh" his father hesitated a moment as if trying to think what to say next."Your mother told me there's been another incident". Blaine could already hear the disaproval in his father's voice and he resisted the urge to hang up on him.

He looked up to see Carole heading his way and, after a quick wave to ackowledge her, he pointed to the phone as an explanation and walked to the other end of the corridor and round the corner out of sight.

"Do you need your mother and I to come back and sort anything out?"

"Well I could.." Blaine's father interupted him before he could say anything more.

"Because to be honest Blaine I'm a little bit disapointed that you've allowed this to happen again. I thought Dalton was supposed to be a fresh start for you, that you we're going to try to avoid stirring any new trouble up." Blaine kept silent through his father's lecture but despite himself he could feel himself tearing up.

"But Dad it was different this time" he attempted to explain.

"Really Blaine you expect me to believe that. You knew that when you chose to live your life this way that there would be negative attention. I hoped you would have learnt your lesson last time but I guess I was wrong."

Blaine just stood with his mouth open in shock at what his father was saying to him. He angrily wiped away the tear that had made it's way down his cheek. He couldn't handle this right now. Not with everything else that was going on his head. He knew that if he didn't end the call soon then he was going to lose all the self control he was trying so hard to cling onto.

"Your right Dad" the words tasted like ash in his mouth. "It was my fault" that at least felt like less of a lie.

"Well" his father seemed flustered by the sound of defeat in his son's voice "okay then, that's good to hear. Take care of yourself, we'll talk more when I get home. Your mother sends her love" Blaine noticed that there was no mention of himself in that last bit." Bye Blaine."

"Bye Dad" Blaine was impressed by how calm his voice was but the second his father hung up he had to resist the urge to throw his cell phone against the wall. Instead he just gripped it tightly in his fist feeling the metal casing digging into his already sore hands.

He realised he couldn't go back in to see Kurt whilst he was still so upset so he headed off in the opposite direction. He didn't have a destination in mind just a need to walk for a while by himself.

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><p>AN: Sorry if people were expecting someone other than Santana but I wanted to bring the New Directions into it and I thought this was better than just having Finn ring them all. If anyone's worried that I'm never going to reveal what happened don't worry it's coming, just not yet.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Well the world didn't end so here's the next chapter.

Don't own 'em and considering how mean I'm being that's probably for the best.

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><p>Chapter Eight<p>

Blaine walked what felt like the whole of the hospital trying to get his emotions back under control. All he ended up with was a headache from the miles of strip lighting and pale green walls. His stomach continued to churn and a couple of times he had to fight down waves of nausea that threatened to overwhelm him . His neck felt like it was on fire and he could still feel fingers round his throat trying to squeeze the life out of him. He's never felt so weary and worn down in his life. He felt as though he was surrounded by darkness and the only bright spot in his life right now, the only thing keeping him form being swallowed whole was Kurt. He found himself hurrying to get back to the hospital room, he needed to see Kurt and hold his hand again, it was the only thing that would keep him from spinning off into oblivion.

Walking into the hospital room for what felt like the millionth time he saw that Burt and Finn had returned and they'd brought pizza with them.

"Blaine" the relief in Kurt's voice was obvious. "Where did you go?" he realised he'd been gone a while and that Kurt must have been worried.

"I just needed some air, sorry" Blaine apologized as he walked over to the bed and took his boyfriend's hand in his. He could feel concerned eyes looking at him but he chose to focus on the pale blue ones in front of him instead.

"You okay Blaine?" Burt asked.

"Yeah I'm fine" he gave his standard answer.

"We brought pizza" Finn said pointing out the obvious.

"Great" Blaine faked a smile. The thought of eating anything right now set his stomach to churning again. He knew that he at least needed to make it look like he was hungry though and reached over to grab a slice. He bit the end off and chewed enthusiastically for the benefit of everyone else, whilst trying not to gag on the greasy piece of processed cheese and dough.

"I want you boys to know" Burt spoke between chews "that we're here for you,." Burt made sure Blaine was looking at him when he added "both of you. What happened to you too was horrible and I don't want either of you to feel ashamed or embarressed about whatever feelings you have about it. You can talk to us no matter what, you're not alone." Blaine knew he was talking to both of them but Burt never once took his eyes from his. He found the pizza in his mouth was even harder to swallow around the lump in his throat. "And Blaine I want to thank you" Blaine started to protest but Burt put his hand up to stop him. "No Blaine I mean it, if you hadn't called that ambulance and looked after Kurt until they arrived then lord knows what would have happened." Blaine felt another twinge of guilt though, knowing how long he'd delayed making that phone call.

"Before we came here Finn and I went to pick Kurt's car up from the movie theatre and we saw where it happened." Burt didn't need to explaine what he meant by that.

"Oh Burt are you sure that was a good idea" Carole interupted.

"No it was a terrible idea" Burt agreed turning to look at her. "But it made me realise how bad it must have been for you two down there and especially you Blaine. I can't imagine how terrified you must have been sitting there with Kurt" Burt voice broke slightly on his son's name. "Just waiting for help to come." Blaine could feel Kurt looking at him but he chose to focus on the bed instead.

Blaine wasn't aware of the tears running down his cheek until he felt the soft touch of Kurt's fingers wiping them away. He looked up to see tears glistening in the other boys eyes aswell.

"I just want you to know Blaine" Burt continued "that I am so grateful to you, for being there with Kurt when he needed you the most and I will never forget what you did for him."

Blaine didn't know how to respond to that so he just nodded. Kurt squeezed his hand a little tighter and smiled at him sweetly.

A slightly uncomfortable silence fell over the room as everyone tried to get a handle on their emotions.

"Oh yeah I should probably warn you, the whole of New Directions will be coming to see you tomorrow." Finn managed to say around a mouthful of pizza. "Mercedes called earlier, I managed to talk her out of coming today, cus visiting hours will be over soon but it took some doing. I think she'll be here really early tomorrow though and judging by the amount of texts I've been getting, everyone else will be with her." he reached for another slice and Blaine used the oppurtunity to put his own nearly uneaten slice back.

The rest of the evening passed uneventlfully and before they knew it visiting hours were over. The staff had been pretty understanding the night before when Kurt was unconcious but they wouldn't allow anyone to stay tonight. So it was that Blaine found himself saying goodbye to Kurt for the night without having had any time with just the two of them. It felt strange to be going home with his boyfriend's family without him there.

He pretended to be asleep in the car to avoid having to talk to anyone. His head was still pounding from earlier and the nauseaus feeling wasn't helped by the movement of the car. By pretending to fall asleep he was able to rest his warm forehead against the cool glass of the window without looking too suspicious.

He made his excuses and went straight up to bed when they finally got home, too tired to even check any of his injuries he changed into the pyjamas from the night before and climbed into bed. Closing his eyes he wished for a deep dreamless sleep to take him away.

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><p>Finn threw the games controller onto the bed beside him. He'd hoped that he could take his mind of everything by playing it but the mindless violence on the screen didn't seem like so much fun anymore. He sighed and laid back on the bed with his hands behind his head. It was weird to think that it had been a little over 24 hours since everything had changed for them.<p>

He was lost in his own thoughts so it took a minute for him to register the noises coming from the guest room next door to his. He could hear what sounded like the signs of a struggle and he was up and already opening the door to the other room before rational thought could kick in.

Of course what he'd heard wasn't the sounds of someone in the middle of a fight but instead the tortured sounds of someone reliving one.

The light from the hallway fell across the bed revealing the writhing form of Blaine trapped in a nightmare. As Finn watched he threw his body about and grasped his sheets in clenched fists. He was twisting and writhing all over the bed and crying out in both pain and fear.

Finn could hear snatches of phrases coming from the other boy and each one peirced his heart like a knife.

"Don't hurt him...please...no...I don't...please..."

The sobs and tortured cries seemed to be increasing but Finn just stood there feeling helpless, not sure what to do. Then all of a sudden Blaine was gasping for air. His eyes flew open as he clawed at his throat in a desperate attempt to release whatever pressure he could feel. This finally got Finn moving as he climbed onto the bed beside the terrified boy and tried to catch his hands in his.

"I can't breathe" Blaine gasped out, fighting Finn.

"It's okay Blaine" Finn tried to cut through the frightened boys confusion. "It's just a dream, just breathe". Finn managed to prise Blaine's fingers from his throat but he just seemed to be getting more and more agitated as Finn held his hands tightly trying to stop him from hurting himself.

"Let go of him Finn" Burt's voice came from the doorway. Finn had never been more relived to see someone in his life but he still didn't let go of the struggling boys hands. Blaine was in serious danger of hyperventilating now.

Carole appeared behind Burt and pushing past him she came and sat beside Finn on the bed.

"Let go Finn" Carole asked again "he thinks your one of them" at her words Finn dropped his hands quickly as if scalded. Blaine's hands immediately went back to his throat but this time Carole placed her own gentley over his.

"It's okay Blaine" she said soothingly "you're safe now". Finn watched as the words seemed to penetrate Blaine's terror induced confusion . His amber eyes lost their frantic look as he took in the three people staring at him in shock.

"It's okay" Carole continued to coo. "Just take deep breaths, it's over now".

Blaine dropped his hands to his lap and Finn could see him trying to steady his breathing.

Carole reached up to run her hand through the teen's curly hair and at her touch Blaine gave a small sob.

"Oh Blaine" Carole pulled the shaking boy's head down so it was resting on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around him. Blaine didn't pull away and instead started to sob as she held him tightly.

Sat on the edge of the bed next to the pair of them Finn felt like he was intruding on something very private so he carefully got up from the bed careful not to disturb them and walked over to where Burt was standing. They stood and watched as the woman they both loved tried to offer some comfort to the weeping boy.

Finn felt his own eyes tearing up and looked around at Burt to see a single tear tracing a path down the normally composed man's face.

They stayed like that for awhile until Blaine's sobs started to taper off. Eventually he pulled away from Carole's embrace.

"I'm sorry" he muttered under his breath and they could all hear the embarresment in his voice.

"You've got nothing to apologize for Blaine" Carole tried to reassure him. "You've been through something terrible, no one expects you to be okay with all this".

Blaine looked over to where the two men we're standing and Finn could tell uncomfortable the other boy was.

"I'll go get you some water" he offered wanting to give him the space he so clearly desired. Blaine nodded at him and Finn could see the gratitude in the other boy's eyes. He made his escape with a sigh of relief. He felt like a coward for running away but he knew it was best to leave something this huge to the adults in the house. This was way out of his comfort zone.

It wasn't until he was holding the glass full of water in the kitchen that he realised his hands we're shaking.

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><p>AN: god this chapter was a pig to write, still doesn't feel quite right but it'll have to do. I realise the spelling and gramma isn't that great either but i'm sick of looking at this one, sorry if it's distracting. Don't worry people Blaine will get help eventually, thinhs should start to unravell over the next couple of chapters.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N:okay last chapter didn't get so much love, i hope i'm not losing people. this chapter is better i think, enjoy.

Don't own 'em.

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><p>Chapter Nine<p>

Blaine sat at the breakfast bar stirring the cereal in his bowl around without once putting any in his mouth. He stared at the cornflakes that now had a disgusting soggy consistency, but anything was better than looking up and making eye contact with any of the people in the kitchen right now, namely Burt and Carole. Finn had already finished his own breakfast and disappeared back upstairs for a shower a while ago.

Burt cleared his throat and Blaine tensed, anticipating whatever it was Burt was going to say. After he'd finally calmed down last night Burt and Finn had left him alone with Carole and he was grateful to them for respecting his space like that. Carole had stroked his head until he'd finally fallen asleep and whilst he'd still not had a good night's sleep none of his other nightmares we're severe enough to wake the rest of the household. He was fully expecting Burt to bring up what had happened last night though and he cringed at the thought of Burt having witnessed him being so weak. But Burt clearly had something else on his mind.

"When did you say you're parents would be back?"

The question took him completely by suprise and he found himself unable to come up with a decent answer. He should have realised that this would come up at some point but he felt like he was juggling so many lies at the minute he'd almost forgotten about this one. Of course he'd known that at some point Burt would want to hand responsibility of him back to his parents but he'd honestly hoped he could just stay here for now, no questions asked. At least until Kurt came out of the hospital in a couple of days. He really didn't want to go home right now because whilst it was hard trying to pretend he was allright around all these people, he was worried what would happen when he was finally on his own, when he didn't have anyone to put an act on for. But the nightmare he'd had last night had obviously tipped Burt off as to how weak he was and he couldn't blame the man for not wanting to have to deal with all his insecurities on top of everything else he was dealing with. After all Burt had his own son to look after. It was probably for the best that he leave before Burt found out just how pathetic he really was.

"Um I didn't" he admitted.

Burt frowned at him. "Well why don't you tell me now then".

"I don't think they are, at least not any time soon."

"What" Burt glanced at Carole narrowing his eyes at Blaine's admission.

"Honey do they know what happened?" Carole asked.

"Kind of" Blaine admitted.

"What do you mean kind of?" there was a steely edge to Burt's voice now.

"I told them I was attacked but I didn't really get a chance to explain everything" Blaine realised that he wasn't doing a very good job of explaining himself. But how could he explain the relationship he had with his parents. That it wouldn't really have mattered what had happened, that his dad would always put his reputation and standing in the community above all else and that his mother would never go against his father's wishes. Blaine hadn't told them much of what happened that night because he didn't want to have to face the fact that they really wouldn't have cared.

"Well maybe you should let me explain it to them" Blaine could tell that Burt was trying to keep his temper in check and he assumed his anger was directed at him. "Give me your cell phone Blaine". He put his hand out and Blaine knew there was no point resisting. He reached into his pocket and passed his phone over to the older man.

* * *

><p>Burt was trying very hard to not get angry as he scrolled through the names on the screen. He wasn't sure who he was more mad at Blaine for keeping so many things to himself or his parents for not digging a little deeper. He stopped on the word dad and hit send.<p>

The phone was answered almost immediately and an irritated voice spoke. "Blaine I'm in the middle of a very important meeting right now can't this wait ".

"This isn't Blaine, Mr Anderson" Burt was impressed by how calm his voice sounded because that wasn't how he was feeling at all.

"Oh" that seemed to bring the other man up short. "Then who am I speaking to?"

"Burt Hummel, Kurt's father".

"Oh" that word again but this time Burt could hear the sneer in the man's voice.

"My wife and I we're wondering when you we're going to be back to see Blaine?".

"Well my business trip won't be finished until the middle of next week, so some time after that I would expect. Is there some reason that you're asking? I was under the impression that Blaine was fine, he told my wife that he didn't need to stay in hospital for any reason".

Burt couldn't believe what he was hearing from the man.

"He's not badly injured, but..." before Burt could say anything else the other man interupted him again.

"Then I'm not entirely sure why you're calling me Mr Hummel. Blaine is old enough to be able to look after himself by now. If I came running every time he has a run in with some bullies he's never going to learn to stand up for himself now is he?" God the man sounded patronising.

"This wasn't just some bullies" Burt could see Blaine squirming in his seat at the words. "These we're grown men that attacked our sons".

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment before a slightly less sure voice replied. "I didn't know that". He seemed to pause to collect his thoughts. "Still it's not like Blaine hasn't been through this before, after all this lifestyle these boys choose to lead is bound to bring unwelcome attention. Blaine is just going to have to live with the consequences of his choices and man up".

Burt put the phone away from his ear for a moment and shut his eyes. He had no idea what to say to this man. When he opened his eyes he found Blaine staring back at him intently. His heart broke for the boy in front of him, Blaine had hinted before that his dad wasn't exactly accepting of him being gay but Burt had no idea that the man was this much of an insensetive jerk.

He put the phone back to his ear and let some of what he was feeling out "My son and yours we're beaten by three grown men who left them bleeding and alone in an alley. My son was knocked unconcious and yours had to sit with him in that disgusting place all alone until help arrived. I think Blaine knows more than enough about being a man" he saw Blaine wince at the word and tried not to think about what the boy must be thinking right now. "However he is still a seventeen year old boy who needs his family right now and if you aren't going to be there for him then my wife and I are more than willing to step up to the plate on that one."

"I really don't think that you have any right to speak to me like that about my own son" Burt was glad to hear that the man could get angry about something, he just wished he could feel as strongly about his son as he did about being insulted.

"I have every right, last night my son spent the night in a hospital bed and my wife spent the night comforting yours, I think I have every right to say whatever I damn well feel like saying to you."

"The fact is, this is irrelevant. I'm in the middle of a very important business deal at the moment. there's just no way I can just leave. I'm sure you can understand that".

"To be frank no I don't. When you finally decide just what is more important to you, Blaine will be at my house, I hope you don't take to long to figure it out" Burt hung up the phone without giving the other man chance to respond.

One look at Blaine's face made him wish he'd made the call in another room, the boy had enough to deal with without having to listen to him argue with his father like that.

"I'm sorry Blaine" he said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Blaine shrugged it off though and stood up from his chair.

"It's okay it's not your fault" Blaine muttered under his breath. "I'll just go get ready then we can go see Kurt right?" he seemed to want to ignore everything that had just happened. Burt gave in with a sigh not wanting to upset him anymore.

"Yeah Blaine we can go see Kurt". Blaine gave a small smile and headed upstairs.

Burt waited until Blaine was out of earshot before exploding.

"That man is unbelievable, I just don't understand people like that?"

"That bad huh?" Carole hadn't said a word until now but Burt could tell she'd picked up enough from his end of the conversation to make her own mind up about Blaine's father.

"Do you know what he said? He said Blaine needed to man up" Burt voice cracked on the word man.

Carole just shook her head at that piece of information.

"No wonder Blaine didn't tell him much, he's got enough to deal with without his father dumping that sort of crap on him" Burt still couldn't believe the conversation he'd just had.

"Some people just..." Carole trailed off as Finn came into the room followed by Blaine. "Oh okay guys I guess we're ready then, let's go see Kurt."

Carole threw the unwashed pots in the sink to deal with later and the four of them headed off to spend another long day at the hospital.

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><p>Mercedes and Rachel had shown up almost as soon as visiting hours started and the rest of the New Directions trickled in as the morning progressed, even Mr Schuester had popped in at one point to make sure Kurt was okay. His room was full to bursting point and he couldn't help smiling as he looked around at everyone. He knew he was so lucky to have such supportive friends.<p>

"Anyway I spoke to my dads about all this" Rachel was saying " and they said to tell you if you need any kind of legal help, or someone to deal with the police for you then they'll be more than happy to help. Obviously this is something that they both feel really strongly about, what with them both being gay and all. Not that you need to be gay or anything to find this just awful. I mean I cried for about an hour last night after Mercedes rang to tell me what happened. I mean it's just so terrible what happened to you and Blaine."

Kurt glanced over to where Blaine was sitting at the back of the room, whilst prentending to listen to the small girls seemingly endless talking. Kurt was worried, even with all the bruising he could see that Blaine's uninjured eye was puffy from lack of sleep, when he'd leaned in to kiss him on the cheek earlier he'd been suprised at how sweaty he'd felt. Judging by the looks his dad, Carole and Finn kept shooting the other boy he had a feeling he wasn't the only one with concerns. He loved the fact that all his friends had come to see him but right now he wanted nothing more than to be alone with his boyfriend so he could really talk to him.

"Kurt did you hear what I said?" Rachel interupted his thoughts.

"Err something about your dads being gay right?" Kurt turned his attention back to her. The comment earned a chuckle from Puck.

"Not quite, I suppose I can't expect you to really pay attention with all the drugs they've got you on". Rachel conceeded. When Kurt looked back over to where Blaine had been sitting he was suprised to see the chair empty. As he looked towards the door he saw Santana slipping out of the room.

"I'll go check" she mouthed the words to him as he looked at him and he nodded to her, relieved that she'd noticed Blaine leaving. He turned his attention back to the other people in the room and tried not to worry too much.

* * *

><p>Blaine needed air. There we're just too many people in the room. He could feel himself getting hotter and hotter. Rachel's voice sounded like a jackhammer in his head making his already pounding head ache even more . He kept catching people glancing at him but every time he caught their eye they would look away as if embarressed . He tried to take slow deep breaths but the pain in his ribs was making that almost impossible and with every passing second the urge to vomit was getting stronger. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and he lurched to his feet and left the room trying not to draw attention to himself. As soon as the door shut behind him however he dropped all pretense and ran for the nearest restroom. Throwing open the door he noted with relief that he was the only one in there. He just managed to make it to stall before he fell to his knees and threw up into the bowl. All he managed to bring up was bile from his nearly empty stomach. The heaving and retching pulled on his already painful chest causing his eyes to water. He sat back from the toilet gasping as his vision started to grey around the edges. He tried to get to his knees, to stand and that's when his body finally gave out. His vision went black as he pitched backwards onto the bathroom floor.<p>

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><p>AN; Sorry, another cliffy. Let me know what you think. I'm off to torture myself by watching clips of Glee Live that I won't be going to.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Okay I now have a full set A-Z, I'm a happy bunny. Once again thanks to everyone who has alerted, favourited or reviewed this story, Klisses to you all. Now on with the show.

Don't own em. And don't even mention Darren Criss tickets to me, I'm in a rage, this is the maddest I've ever been. (avps quote but also an accurate portrayal of how i'm feeling right now)

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><p>Chapter Ten<p>

Santana tuned out as soon as Rachel started talking. I mean who wouldn't. If she wanted to listen to the hobbit speak then she would wait until..., no scratch that she'd never want to listen to her speak. She took the oppurtunity instead to look around the room. Even though everyone was smiling and trying to look happy for Kurt's sake she could tell that some of them we're struggling to keep up the act. You could practically feel the tension in the boys shoulders, especially Puck, as though all they really wanted to do was hit something or somebody. She could definitely relate to that feeling. Mike had his arms around Tina and she was grasping his arm tightly where it lay across her neck. Brittany just looked even more confused than normal and Santana sent her a small reassuring smile. She looked back to Kurt to see him looking with concern at where Blaine was sitting unobtrusively at the back of the room. She followed his gaze and frowned. Blaine didn't look good. Well that was a given what with all the bruising but there was something more. He had a sheen of sweat coating his face and he kept darting his eyes around the room. She looked down at where his hands lay in his lap and noticed that they we're trembling.

It still took her by suprise though when she saw him shoot up from his seat and head for the door. She didn't think, just acted on instinct as she followed him. One last quick into the room gave her chance to let Kurt know she was on it and then she went after him. She watched him bolt for the nearest men's restroom but stopped when she got to the door.

She hesitated only slightly before saying "screw it" and pushing the door open.

The smell of vomit was the first thing to hit her and she wrinkled her nose up at the stench. Then she saw him sprawled out on the floor and she dropped to her knees next to him.

"Blaine" she shook his arm, she would have slapped his face a couple of times but with all the bruising decided against it.

"Blaine" she said again and was rewarded by seeing his eyes flickering slightly.

"Come on Blaine. Crap". She didn't know what to do for the best and just settled for holding onto his arm and waiting for him to come to on his own. She watched him open his one good eye slowly and was taken aback by the pain and confusion she saw there. He pulled away from her hand sharply and then groaned as if the movement pained him. She decided not to take offence at the fact that he didn't want her touching him, knowing it wasn't personal.

"I'll get someone" she started to stand and was stopped when he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her down to his side again.

"Don't" he said the word harshly.

"Blaine you need to get checked over" she argued back.

"Please" oh my god he was pleading with her now. Looking into those beautiful honey eyes of his how could she resist.

Shaking her head at her own stupidity she made a decision.

"Ok fine let's get you somewhere else and then we'll talk about it" Blaine slumped in relief and let go of her hand. "Can you at least stand up? Because I tell you now I'm not carrying your midget ass".

She watched as he struggled to get to his feet, grasping the sink for support. When she was satisfied he wasn't about to fall on his ass again she opened the door to the restroom to make sure the coast was clear. She still couldn't figure out why she was doing this instead of just getting some help, but something about the way he'd looked at her when he'd said please had gotten to her, plus she was curious if she was honest. If she fetched someone now she'd probably never find out what was going on with him.

Seeing there was no one in the hallway she pointed Blaine in the direction of a room she knew was empty. She followed his unsteady progress and was glad when they made it into the private room without him collapsing on her.

"Sit down" she pointed at the bed and Blaine didn't even try to argue with her just sank down onto the bed with a sigh.

"Okay are you going to tell me what's going on?" he flinched back from her angry tone.

"I'm just tired I guess" he said but he refused to meet her eye as he said it.

"There's more to it than that" she refused to let him get away with it that easily. She stood and looked at him, really looked at him. The way he was holding himself got her to thinking.

"Are you hurt Blaine" he shook his head but again refused to meet her eyes. She decided to act on a hunch and gently poked him in the side, the same one she was pretty sure he was favouring. He pulled away from her with a sharp hiss, pain flaring across his face.

"Take your top off Blaine" she put her hand on her hip and set her jaw.

"No" but the word was whispered and full of desperation.

"Well you've got two choices, either you let me take a look or I'm going to go get a real doctor". She could see how terrified he was and she felt bad for threatening him like this but what other choice did she have. Now that she knew he was hurt she couldn't just leave it.

"I'm fine Santana" and damn if he didn't look at her with that charming smile of his. What he didn't realise though was that Santana was a master at putting on a mask for people and she could spot them a mile away in other people.

"Okay let's start with what I know. You're not sleeping or eating" he started to protest this. "Don't even try to deny it I've thrown up enough times to know what it smells like when your just bringing up bile, plus have you looked in the mirror today, Kurt could go shopping with the bags under your eyen. Even under all the bruises I can see them. Now I want to know what your hiding under that sweatshirt of yours and neither of us is leaving until you let me take a look." Normally all sorts of dirty jokes would have sprang to mind at a time like this, but even she knew that wasn't really appropriate right now.

Blaine's shoulders slumped "Can't you just leave it?" he sounded so worn down that her resolve wavered, who was she to force him to do something he didn't want to.

Actually screw that, he wasn't getting off that easy.

"No I can't. Now I know you don't know me very well, but if you did you'd know I'm a nosy bitch and you've got me curious" she tilted her head on one side at him. "And another thing you should know is that I always get what I want in the end."

She watched as he ran a shaking hand through his messy hair and waited for him to take in what she's just said.

"If I let you look you need to promise me that you'll keep this between us".

"Why?" her tone was softer now, she couldn't understand why he was hiding this from everyone anyway, didn't he realise that people we're worried about him.

"Because that's the way I want it to be". Santana shook her head at that, really that was all the explanation he was going to give her. She started to say something else but looking at him sat there, trying so hard not to fall apart, she couldn't think of what to say.

"Okay" she agreed, because what other choice did she have?

He reached down and pulled his hoody off and put it over his knees as though not able to give up his hold on it completely.

So Blaine sat there in just a t-shirt and even without him taking it off Santana could see that there was something more than just bruised ribs under there. She could see where blood had seeped through the thin material in places. She tried not show what she was feeling as he very slowly removed it, reavealing the mess underneath.

One side of his body, the same side she had poked a moment ago, was just one big ugly bruise and she was unable to stop herself frm running her fingers lightly over the area. Unsuprisingly Blaine flinched away from her touch. She moved her hand away quickly.

"I don't think they broke any ribs, they're just sore" Blaine said.

Santana didn't say a word, just continued to look at the rest of his torso. It was like a patchwork of cuts and bruises. She could see that a couple of the cuts we're pretty deep and even still oozing in a few places. She guessed that the some of the same glass that had ended up embedded in Kurt's thigh had also been responsible for them.

"These look like they might be infected" Santana pointed at some of the nastier cuts. "You need antibiotics Blaine".

"No doctors" Blaine insisted.

"I don't understand. Why don't you want..."Santana trailed off because as she'd been talking her eyes had been wandering over the different cuts and bruises, her brain trying to find a pattern to the mess. Then the puzzle pieces came together all of a sudden. Her fingers once again moved of their own accord, trailing light brushes along the clearly visible fingerprint marks that sat on either side of his hips disappearing below the waistband of his jeans.

This time Blaine gasped as he pulled away, but she knew she hadn't pressed hard enough to hurt him. Looking up at his face her heart broke to see the tears that we're running down his cheeks.

"Oh Blaine" she reached a hand out to brush away the tears."What did they do to you?"

"Don't" the word came out as a half sob as he pulled even further away from him. "Just don't. I can't...please".

Santana watched him curl in on himself and let her hand drop to her side. She was completely lost as to what to do now. This was so messed up, what was she supposed to do. She just stood there.

Blaine cleared his throat and wiped a shaking hand across his face. "Can you just, I don't know clean these up or something?" he looked at her with those adorable puppy dog eyes of his and she kind of hated him for it. How dare he put her in this position, how dare he ask her to keep this to herself. This was too big, there's no way she could go along with this. She needed to tell someone so he could get the help he really needed, doctors, police, parents, someone. But she'd made a promise. Okay when she'd made it she hadn't realised how serious this could be but still she couldn't go back on her word. He needed someone to trust right now.

Anyway whose to say what had happened, maybe she was jumping to the wrong conclusions. So what if it looked like someone had gripped him by the hips so tight they'd left bruises, that didn't have to mean what she was thinking happened was true, she'd always had a dirty mind. She found herself staring again trying to find some other explanation for the marks that covered his stomach and chest. Her eyes lingered over a row of circular bruises that ran from his chest across his collarbone and she fought down a wave of revulsion because she knew what those marks we're. Lovebites.

She wanted to run from the room, run from the reality of what must have happened to this kind, gentle sweet boy. Run away from Blaine.

But how could she. How could she leave him alone. Leave him to deal with this by himself. He needed help and if she was the only one who he would let help her for now then she wasn't going to run and hide like a little girl. She knew that there was no way this could stay just between them forever but for now maybe that's the way Blaine needed it to be.

She was going to clean him up, get him something to eat and let him rest. Then when he felt better she was going to do everything she could to persuade him to tell someone.

"Okay stay here I'll go grab some stuff" the relief she saw in his eyes was almost worth the sinking feeling in her stomach.

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><p>AN; I hope I got across how conflicted Santana is by all this and that it didn't just come across as confusing.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I really love you guys, you make me smile. I'm so blown away by how many people seem to be liking this story.

Me not own.

But guess what I do have? A ticket to see Darren Criss in London in July. I can't begin to explain how big a deal this is for me. But I won't mention it again, don't want to annoy anyone by going on about it. But yay!

Oh and don't worry the fact that I'm actually happy for a change won't change the tone of the story because angst also makes me very happy.

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><p>Chapter Eleven<p>

Blaine picked at the blanket he was sitting on whilst he waited for Santana to come back. He was so tired, more tired than he had ever been in his life. But he couldn't relax, he kept one eye on the door the whole time, fearing someone else walking in on him. Santana had been gone a long time, what if she brought someone back with her after all. For a moment he considered running, but what was the point, where would he go. He couldn't escape this nightmare. He just had to trust that she would keep her word, he didn't have any other choice.

The door opened and he was relieved to see Santana enter the room alone. She had an arm full of things that she dropped onto the bed next to him.

"What took so long?"

"Well stealing hospital supplies takes a little bit of sneaking about believe it or not. I'm only a candy striper I'm not actually supposed to touch any of this stuff. Luckily for you I know a male nurse who's very accomodating". Seeing the worried look on his face she quickly added "don't worry I didn't tell him about you, just told him I'd got a bit carried away with the back scratching on my new boyfriend. He knows me well enough to believe that. I also had to tell Kurt where you are" Blaine's face changed from worried to full blown panic at that peice of information.

"You prom..." Sanatan cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"I just told him you we're exhausted, which at least isn't a lie. I had to tell him something, he saw you leave, he's worried about you Blaine." Blaine heart clenched at that. He was glad that Kurt cared enough to notice he was gone but devestated that he'd caused the other boy to worry.

"He really cares about you you know?" Santana said "he'd want to know what happened to you."

"No" Blaine didn't attempt to explain himself. Kurt was the last person in the world that Blaine wanted to know about this. He couldn't bear to see those eyes look at him with anything but love. Didn't want to see the pity and disgust that would cloud them if he knew.

"Okay first things first " Sanata had clearly decided to just get on with the matter at hand. She grabbed a tube of cream and some bandages "let's get those cuts sorted". Blaine couldn't help but notice that Santana was looking everywhere but at his face.

"This might sting a little" she warned him as she applied some of the cream to the worst of his cuts. He pulled away from her touch and her fingers stilled.

"I'm sorry" Santana looked him in the eye then and he knew that she wasn't talking about hurting him. He could hear how broken up she was, she didn't even sound like Santana right now He felt bad for making her a part of this, she shouldn't have to deal with his mess. No one else should have to feel bad because of him.

"Do you want me to carry on" she asked and he nodded to let her know it was okay, the quicker this was over with, the better. He tried not to flinch away a second time but he tensed up all the same. Santana quickly but gently covered the worst cuts up with the cream then applied bandages to them.

"You can put your top back on now" Blaine breathed out, not realising he had been holding his breath the whole time.

He pulled first the t-shirt and then the hoody back over his head. When he could see again Santana was holding a sandwich out for him to take.

He started to shake his head. Just the thought of trying to swallow anything past the swelling in his throat made him wince. Not to mention that he doubted he'd be able to keep it down anyway.

"No Blaine, you don't get to refuse this one. Eat the sandwich. You can't take the antibiotics I stole for you on an empty stomach and you need them. Some of those cuts look like they might be infected, god knows what nasty crap was down that alley. I'm going to assume you're not allergic to anything."

Blaine reluctantly took the sandwich from her. He felt her watching him as he slowly removed it from the wrapper. Once last look at her face let him know that there was no way she was going to let him off so he put the sandwich to his mouth and took a tiny bite.

He almost gagged as he tried to swallow it and he saw the flash of pity on Santana's eyes. She held a bottle of orange juice out and he took it gratefully. By alternating small bites with swigs of juice he was eventually able to get one half of the sandwich down. It was a painstaking process though and he could already feel his stomach protesting.

He put the other half down on the night stand and was grateful when Santana didn't say anything about it. She just held out two small white pills and he swallowed them down with the last of the orange juice.

"Do you want to see if you can get some rest?" the gentleness in her voice made him feel close to tears again, he wasn't sure he could handle her sympathy right now. He wanted nothing more than to curl up on this bed and go to sleep. Maybe then he wouldn't have to think for a while, he could sink into blissful oblivion.

He stood up whilst Sanata pulled the sheets back for him. Kicking his shoes off he climbed back into bed and she pulled the cover over him. He felt like a little boy again when his mom would come to tuck him in at bed time and read him a story. Some fantastic tale of Knights and dragons, where evil was always vanquished and the good guys never got hurt. But it was a long time since his mom had tucked him in and he didn't believe in fairy tales anymore.

He closed his eyes, aware that Santana still stood by his side and he was suprised to find that the thought comforted him. Feeling slightly less alone he let himself succumb to sleep.

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><p>Kurt was starting to feel trapped. They'd begun to cut down on his meds so he was a little more uncomfortable but also thankfully a lot less sleepy. He was seeing things a lot more clearly now and he was angry with himself for not keeping a better eye on Blaine. When Santana had come in earlier to let him know that Blaine was really tired and he'd crashed out in a room down the hall he'd wanted nothing more than to go and see his boyfriend, to make sure he was okay. That had been more than an hour ago and Santana still hadn't really wanted to know how Blaine was doing. He realised she might have just gone home like the rest of New Directions, apart from Mercedes, but he didn't think she would have left without saying goodbye. He felt helpless and he hated feeling like that, it made him irritable.<p>

"God I can't wait to get out of this hospital bed" he said to anyone who would listen. "The thread count on these sheets isn't doing anything for my skin and why am I still wearing this thing?" he plucked at the hideous hospital gown he was wearing.

Burt chuckled at the outburst and Kurt knew his dad was pleased to hear him being a little more like the diva they all loved.

"Tomorrow morning we'll bring you some pyjamas from home" Carole smiled at him. "In fact that's just given me a thought. We could really do with taking Blaine home to collect some of his own clothes."

"Wait, Blaine's staying at our house?" Kurt couldn't believe that no-one had told him that little bit of information.

"Yeah we didn't really want him going home to an empty house" Burt explained.

"Where are his parents?" Mercedes asked. Kurt knew Blaine's parents we're in Italy but he was just as curious to hear the answer, he couldn't believe that they hadn't come home in light of what had happened to their son.

"In Italy, they didn't feel that they needed to come back" Kurt could hear the barely concealed rage in his fathers voice.

"Oh that's all kinds of messed up" Mercedes said, echoeing what Kurt was thinking.

"Yeah, pretty much what we thought too" his dad suprised him by saying.

"Have you ever met them Kurt?" Carole asked.

"Only his mom, she seemed nice, a bit distant maybe. His dad always seems to be at work when I've been round. In fact "Kurt admitted "I'd been wondering about that, I was starting to think Blaine was only inviting me round when he knew his dad would be out."

"Well after the conversation I had with the man earlier I wouldn't be suprised".

Kurt squinted his eyes at his dad. "What conversation? What did you say to him dad?"

"Don't worry I didn't get too carried away, it was pretty hard not to though. I'm sorry to say your boyfriend's dad is an ass Kurt." Kurt's eyes widened in suprise at his dads words.

So here was another thing he really needed to talk to Blaine about, it was going to end up being one long conversation if he ever got to see him without someone else hanging around.

He sat there thinking about all the things he didn't know about Blaine. It's not as though Blaine kept things from him, more that he just didn't volunteer infromation. He was going to have to remedy that real soon.

The door to his room opened and he looked up, hoping to see Blaine or at least Santana, but instead found himself looking at the two detectives who'd been by yesterday.

"Mr Hummel" the taller one spoke looking directly at him "we found some cctv footage from the bank across the street from the theatre and we we're hoping you and Mr Anderson could take a look at it. We think it might have picked up the men who attacked you."

Kurt looked at the disc the other man held in his hand and suddenly he found it hard to swallow. Was he finally going to see the faces of the men who had put him in the hospital? Would he finally be able to remember something other than random flashes? He was deperate to remember but the dread he felt in the pit of his stomach made him wonder if he was better off not knowing.

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><p>AN; dun dun dun

okay i have no idea if the police would do this. whether the footage would be on disc, whether they'd bring it into the hospital or whether they'd be able to play it there but that's the least complicated way i could think of doing it. plus i don't think it really matters as long as we get the result i'm going for


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: A few people seem to be worried that this fic is not going to have a happy ending and I just want to reassure you that whilst it's very dark and probably going to stay that way for a while I do intend to finish it on a lighter note. Happy ending might be a stretch because I want to keep it somewhat realistic but if all goes to plan and I can pull it off it should end with hope for a happier future.

This would have been up sooner but I decided I hated what I'd done and completely rewrote it, I hope this one works.

Don't own 'em.

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><p>Chapter Twelve<p>

The journey to Blaine's house seemed to be taking a lifetime. When Carole had suggested earlier that he should probably fetch some of his own stuff from home Finn had quickly volunteered to drive him. He had a feeling it was because Finn wanted a chance to ask him some questions with no-one else to interupt, but so far the journey had been pretty much silent.

Blaine scrolled through the messages on his phone. He could feel Finn looking at him out of the corner of his eye but focused on the screen instead. His phone had been switched off the whole time he was at the hospital and as a result he'd got a lot of missed calls and messages. Most we're from his friends at Dalton and he knew he couldn't put off calling someone to let them know what had been going on.

He really didn't want to make the call, in fact he was getting to the point where he didn't want to talk to anyone. He hated having to keep going over and over what had happened, especially as it was getting harder not to let something slip out about what had really happened to him. But it was probably best to get it over with. Plus if he was on the phone Finn wouldn't be able to ask him any of the questions that Blaine knew he was dying to ask him.

His decided on Wes in the end, knowing he could trust the other boy to not overreact and that he would fill everyone else in, saving Blaine from having to repeat himself a dozen more times.

He didn't even hear the phone ring his end before it was answered.

"Blaine is that you" an anxious sounding Wes spoke.

"Yeah Wes it's me" Blaine put his head back on the seat and rubbed his face wearily.

"I've...we've been trying to get hold of you all weekend...where have you been?"

"At the hospital" Blaine knew he could have probably said that a little more tactfully.

"Are you allright, what happened?" the concern in his friend's voice made his throat dry up and it was a while before he could find a way to answer.

"Yeah.. yeah I'm allright" he didn't look at Finn as he said the words but he could feel him looking at him none the less.

"Then why..."

"Kurt's there" Blaine knew he should just say what happened instead of these little leading sentences but he found he was struggling to keep it together.

"Kurt, oh my god, is he okay?"

"Not really no, but he's better than he was" Blaine thought he did well to hide the small sob that almost escaped him when he spoke those words.

"Blaine talk to me man, what's happening".

Blaine didn't immediately answer but Wes must have sensed that he needed a minute to compose himself because he didn't push for an answer straight away.

Blaine took a deep breath and then just blurted it all out. "Kurt and I we're attacked Friday night. Three guys jumped us and Kurt's been in the hospital ever since."

"Jesus, what the hell?" Wes reacted.

"Yeah Kurt was knocked unconcious, it took him a while to wake up but the blood loss probably didn't help with that. There was some broken glass in the alley and a piece got stuck in Kurt's thigh. He's awake now but they're keeping him in for now to keep an eye on everything..."

"What about you?" Wes broke into his rambling.

"Me, I'm fine" he reassured the other boy. "Just a few bruises, I was the lucky one" and those words didn't feel like acid dripping off his tongue at all.

"Oh good, not about Kurt of course, just that you weren't both hurt too badly..."Wes trailed off as though embarrassed that he'd said the wrong thing.

"Yeah" Blaine's headache was coming back.

"What about the people who did it, have they been arrested yet?"

"No, not yet but the police found some cctv of them so maybe. I don't really know." Blaine found his voice fading as weariness overtook him again. The image of that face still dominating his mind.

"Are you at home? Me and David could come round and see you if you want".

"I'm staying at Kurt's house for now" Blaine knew that was just going to prompt more questions.

"Why, where are your parents?" a pause for a minute "They're not still in Italy are they?".

"Yeah" Blaine admitted.

"Do they know what happened, because I'm sure if they did they'd..."

"They know" Blaine interupted.

"Oh" Wes clearly didn't know what to say to that.

"It's okay though, they know I'm not too badly hurt and dad really needs to finish up what he's doing" he didn't know why he was defending them but it had just become second nature by now. "It's fine and anyway I'm spending so much time at the hospital it makes more sense for me to stay at Kurt's house anyway."

"Really?" Blaine could almost hear Wes's eyebrows raising as he asked the question.

"Yes really. Look I've got to go but could you do me a favour and let everyone know what's happened. I'll be in touch in a day or so to let you know how Kurt's doing."

"Okay, tell Kurt we'll be thinking of him" .

"Of course, thanks. I'll speak to you later".

"Blaine" Wes spoke again before he could end the call.

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

He gave a little laugh and hoped it didn't sound as forced as it felt.

"I'm fine, just worried about Kurt, it's been a long couple of days you know."

"Okay" Wes didn't sound like he was very convinced "you know where I am if you need anything. Take care Blaine. Not just of Kurt, but of yourself aswell."

Blaine closed his eyes fighting the swell of emotion he felt.

"Thanks Wes, bye" he ended the phone call and let the phone drop to his lap.

"Why do you do that?" Finn asked and Blaine didn't bother to look at him, just kept his eyes shut with his head back against the headrest.

"What?"

"Pretend like everything's okay, that nothing bothers you?"

"I don't know what you mean"Blaine started fiddling with his cell phone hoping Finn would just drop the subject.

"It's like with your parents dude. It's not cool what they're doing and you just act like it's perfectly normal".

"Maybe because for me it is" the words slipped out before he could stop them. He tried to explain himself. "I mean they're, or at least my dad is a very important person. He has a lot of responsibilites and a lot of people depend on him".

"And that doesn't include you?"

"I guess not " he admitted.

"Well I'm sorry dude but that just sucks".

Blaine smiled slightly at that.

"You get used to it".

"Well you shouldn't have too" Finn was really hitting close to the bone now and whilst Blaine appreciated what he was saying he really didn't want to talk about it anymore.

Thankfully he saw that the exit they needed was coming up and drew Finn's attention to it. The next few minutes we're taken up by Blaine giving Finn directions on how to get to his house and thankfully the conversation seemed to be left behind.

Finn whistled as he pulled onto the driveway of Blaine's house. Blaine knew the house was impressive to look at but it was all for show.

He fished his house key out of his pocket and opened the front door to the darkened foyer. He deactivated the alarm whilst he waited for Finn to join him, then reached for the light switch. The chandelier above them burst into light, dazzling in it's intensity. Finn looked around, his mouth agape at the multitude of expensive art that was on show. Blaine doubted that Finn was much of an art conesiuer but it was fairly obvious that most of the things on display we're worth a lot of money. Of course that was exactly the look his parents had been going for.

As he turned around Finn's sleeve brushed against a small figurine that Blaine knew was worth at least a few thousand and he couldn't help but laugh at the panic that flashed on the other boys face. He just managed to stop it from toppling from the table it was standing on. The laugh died in his throat though when he realised that his parents would probably have been upset if one of their prized possesions had been broken, unlike their son.

"I think I'll just wait here" Finn said putting his hands in his pocket and making sure he wasn't standing anywhere near anything.

"Okay, I won't be long anyway" Blaine had every intention of getting out of this place as quickly as he could.

He headed upstairs and straight to his own room. Opening the door he was struck with such a feeling of wrong that it made him stop at the threshold. He felt like he was entering a stranger's room, he hadn't realised until this moment how much had changed for him. He slowly walked into the room looking at the tops he'd left strewn across his bed in his last minute panic about what to where for his date with Kurt. It felt like a lifetime ago that he'd last stood in this room, his biggest worry whether his very fashionable boyfriend would approve of his outfit. He sat down on the bed as the days events caught up with him.

Watching the cctv footage earlier had been yet another thing that had messed with his head. It was going to the point now that he wasn't sure how he was even managing to breath, let alone keep up this act that seemed to be fooling most people. Although even he could tell the cracks we're getting bigger and he was scared that it wouldn't be long before he fell to pieces completely. Luckily the footage only showed the outside of the movie theatre and nothing of the alley by the side. He'd had to watch stony faced as the image of Kurt and himself had walked out of the doors smiling and holding hands knowing what was about to happen and helpless to change anything. He would give anything to be able to go back to that moment in time and change everything, rewind his life in the same way that the detctive seemed to rewind the images over and over. He'd felt Kurt grip his hand a little tighter as three man had appeared on the left of the screen and he'd answered the unspoken question with a nod. Yes that was them. He saw the moment when they'd called out to the two of them. The footage was silent but the words rang in his mind clearly.

"Ahhh look at the two little boys, how sweet. Holding hands and everything".

He felt everyone in the room tense up at the expression on his and Kurt's faces knowing that that was when everything had changed. The two boys on screen had tensed up and walked quickly away and out of sight of the camera. He'd had to fight back another wave of nausea as the three men quickly followed. The last image had been a really clear one of one of the men's faces. It was a face that already haunted Blaine's nightmares and now he couldn't seem to get rid of the image. Kurt had been angry that the footage hadn't jogged his memory but Blaine had just been relieved.

He quickly stood up off the bed and grabbed a bag hastily shoving items into it not really caring what, anything would do. He wanted to get out of this room, out of this house as soon as he could. For some reason being in his own room made everything feel so much more real, so much more raw. As he opened his dresser a picture that was stood on top of it caught his attention. It had been taken a couple of years ago, the summer before he'd come out actually and in it a smiling Blaine stood inbetween his mother and father. It was a pefect image of a perfect family. But even that was a lie, it had been taken for a magazine article that his father had appeared in and he remembered how angry his father had gotten that day because he'd forgotten to wear a tie to the photoshoot, he'd had to borrow one from the wardrobe department in the end, something that his father had found very embarrassing.

Without any thought he picked the picture up and threw it at the wall. The frame broke and glass shattered all over the floor. He threw his bag over his shoulder and headed back to where Finn was waiting for him. Judging by the look on Finn's face he had heard the noise from upstairs and Blaine was grateful when he didn't bring it up.

The whole ride back to Lima was done in silence.

The hospital room was dark, visiting hours long over. The boy in the bed twisted to and fro, sweat plastered his hair to his damp forehead. Suddenly he sat bolt upright, his injuries all but forgotten as he called out one word in terror.

One word.

A name.

"Blaine".

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><p>AN: Next chapter I promise you'll get to know all about Kurt's nightmare.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Well I'm a day early but I reaaly wanted to get this one up as I'm very nervous about it.

Okay I'm changing it to M. I wasn't expecting this part to be so dark and the one I had planned for later I was considering doing in such a way as to maybe avoid that but it just doesn't work so I'm going to have to bite the bullet and up the rating. sorry folks.

I'm getting bored of saying I don't own them so you know what, I do, bring on the lawyers!

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><p>Chapter Thirteen<p>

Kurt waited in the foyer whilst Blaine nipped to the rest room. He spent the time looking around at the various movie posters displaying upcoming movies. He wondered which one he and Blaine might see on their next date. Inside he squeeled a bit at the thought. He still couldn't get his head around the fact that he had a boyfriend and that he was getting to go on actual dates with him. Not only that but his boyfriend was someone as amazing as Blaine, someone who he loved and who loved him in return. Lost in dreamy thoughts he didn't notice Blaine come up behind him until he put his arms around his waist. He squeeled out loud this time.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist" Blaine laughed letting go of him as he spun around to face him.

"Well just for that you can buy the coffee" Kurt smiled back at him, unable to be mad when Blaine was giving him that adorable goofy smile of his.

"Deal" Blaine nodded and they headed towards the door that would lead them outside.

Kurt jumped a little when Blaine unexpectedly took his hand in his own. He looked into the other boys eyes and they both smiled shyly at each other. He gave the hand in his a squeeze and felt his heart beat a little faster when Blaine did the same.

They pushed the doors open together and made their way outside. Kurt didn't even notice the men until he heard one of them call out.

"Aahh look at the two little boys, how sweet. Holding hands and everything".

He started to let go of Blaine's hand but the other boy squeezed it again and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Just ignore them" he said so that only Kurt could hear him. The two of them started walking in the direction of the coffe shop they we're planning on going to.

"Hay my friend was talking to you" another voice called out and this one sounded more than a little drunk. If it wasn't for the fact that he was feeling a bit nervous he would have sneered at the fact that these men we're clearly drunk at 9.30 at night.

"Well we're not listening" Blaine answered back whilst they both picked up the pace a little bit.

As they started to walk past the end of the alley that ran alongside the theatre Kurt felt someone slam into him from the side and suddenly he was being pushed and dragged into the dark, dank alley. He didn't have chance to call out before his hand was pulled from Blaine's and he felt himself pushed hard enough that he tripped over something in the dark and fell. He cried out as he felt something dig sharply into the back of his thigh. He could feel something running down the back of his leg and knew it could only be blood judging by how much it hurt.

"Kurt" Blaine shouted out in repsonse to his cry and he looks up just in time to see one of the men, a bald guy wearing a blue shirt, push Blaine to the floor beside him.

"Aren't you two just the cutest things ever" the man who said this was a little bit younger looking than the first one, but he was huge at least 6' 2" and Kurt had never felt more scared in his life. All those times with the jocks at school could never have prepared him for this. This was something else and he was completely terrified.

Laughter draws his attention back to Blaine and he was shocked to see the third man had a foot on his boyfriend's chest and was laughing as Blaine squirmed below him.

"Ooohh looks like we've got a feisty one here" the beer bellied man laughed at the other two.

"Dibs on him then, I like it when they put up a bit of a fight" the tall one said and the words pierced Kurt's soul like a knife. Up until that moment he'd thought these we're just grown up versions of the neandarthals who'd made his life hell at school but now he wasn't so sure.

He looked at Blaine and saw the same raw terror he was feeling reflected there.

He looked around frantically for something to help them and spotted the jagged neck of a broken bottle. Slowly he started to reach his hand out towards it.

"No chance boy" the tall one said and without warning he moved his foot from off of Blaine's chest and stamped down hard on his fingers. Kurt was unable to stop the scream that burst from his lips. The pain flashed white and hot and he knew that at least a couple of his fingers had to be broken.

In the middle of his haze of pain he was vaguely aware of Blaine calling out to him and movement from that direction.

Through tear filled eyes he saw Blaine leap to his feet as though coming to his aid. He couldn't get his breath back in time to warn his boyfriend as the bald one came up behind him and wrappd his arm around Blaine's neck in a choke hold. He watched in horror as the man pulled Blaine towards the wall and slammed his face into the rough brickwork. The man now had his arm across the back of his neck and Kurt's heart stuttered in his chest as he ran his other hand slowly down Blaine's back. Fondling and caressing as he ground his hips into the terrified boy.

He spun him around suddenly and Kurt could clearly see the blood running down the other boy's face from a nasty cut on his forehead. Blaine looked back at him but Kurt could see his eyes we're a little glazed over.

"Oh dear, you've hurt your head" the man's voice dripped with sarcasm. Then he ran his finger along the cut and Kurt's stomach churned as he watched the man lick the blood off his finger. "Shame, we wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face of yours".

Kurt's stomach flipped over again as he watched the man lean in and roughly kiss Blaine, who's eyes widened in realisation of what was really going on here.

Kurt lurched to his feet taking advantage of the fact that all three men seemed completely focused on Blaine at that moment. Blaine caught his eye and Kurt ignored the silent command there. He knew Blaine wanted him to run but that wasn't an option, there was no way he was leaving him alone in this place with those three. Ignoring all the pains in his body and before he had a chance to second guess himself he ran full pelt at the back of the man who had Blaine pinned against the wall. He'd almost made it when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he found himself being spun around. The dumpster loomed into his vision. He slammed into it head first and darkness descended.

* * *

><p>Kurt sat up in bed gasping.<p>

"Blaine" the name died on his lips.

The room was dark and it took him a minute to realise where he was and that he was alone.

He took short shaky breaths trying to calm himself down.

His head was full of images, the very things he'd been trying so hard to remember for the last couple of days. Now a part of him wished that he could convice himself that what he'd just experienced had just been a nightmare, something his subconcious had conjured up to taunt him with. But he knew that wasn't the case, knew that what had just invaded his sleep had been exactly what had happened two nights ago and he also knew that he needed to speak to Blaine.

Now.

* * *

><p>AN: As I said I'm really nervous about this one, hope you're not dissapointed with it. Blaine's own version of events will come a liitle bit later, but not too far away now. I know it probably seems like I'm teasing you guys but this is how I had it planned for ages. We are getting to it now though and Blaine won't be alone for much longer.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Here we go guys. Can I just say how overwhelmed by how many of you are into this story. I'm not going to quote numbers at you , but it's a bloody lot and I'm very flattered.

Okay turns out no one cares if I own them or not so I lay my claim here and now. Next time you see Darren he'll have a little flag sticking out of the top of his head with my face on it.

* * *

><p>Chapter Fourteen<p>

Blaine headed to the hospital on his own the next morning. Aparently Kurt had rang his father first thing and asked if Blaine could come alone this morning. Burt had been reluctant at first but now that Kurt was doing better he could actually do with checking in with work. Finn already had plans to meet up with Puck and Carole said she had plenty to be getting on with at home. Burt decided it would be okay if the two boys had some time alone together and told Blaine it would be good for them to get a proper chance to talk, for some reason that comment made Blaine a little nervous. They all planned on heading back to the hospital in the afternoon.

The second Blaine walked into Kurt's room he knew something was different. Kurt looked awful, worse than when he'd first woken up in fact. His normally flawless complexion was blotchy and his eyes we're red rimmed as though he'd been crying. Blaine's heart broke at the thought.

"Blaine" the word came out as a sob and Blaine was by his side before it was finished.

"What is it Kurt, I'm here" he reassured the other boy, holding his hand tightly again.

"I remember" those two words took the strength from Blaine's legs and he sank down on the chair next to Kurt's bed.

"I need you to tell me something Blaine" Kurt caught his eye and held him locked in his gaze. "What happened after I got knocked out? Those men...did they...please tell me they didn't hurt you?"

Blaine looked the boy he loved in the eye and did the worst thing he'd ever done in his life, he lied.

"No Kurt they ran off like I already said" the relief that came over Kurt's face in that moment was worth the pain he felt in his own chest. How could he take that away from him. Kurt would be devestated if he knew the truth and Blaine just couldn't do that to him.

"Oh thank God." Kurt breathed out."But still Blaine that man.. he... kissed you and..."

Blaine smiled and reached a hand up to brush Kurt's hair out of his eyes.

"It's okay, I'm okay".

"Why didn't you tell anyone, everyone thinks they wanted to beat us up because we're gay, not because they..." he trailed off again and Blaine loved the fact that Kurt was too sweet and innocent to be able to say any of those things.

"Because it doesn't matter" this caused Kurt to frown up at him.

"Of course it matters Blaine, it changes everything."

"Why does it" Blaine found he was starting to get angry "I told you nothing happened so what does it matter what they intended to do".

"I'm sorry Blaine" Kurt tried to calm him down. "I didn't mean to upset you, this must have been so horrible for you. I mean I know you said that nothing else happened but that kiss was bad enough. I know what it's like to have something like that forced on you..."

"This wasn't the same as some silly little locker room kiss. " Blaine's voice was harsh and cruel and he wished he could stop what he was saying but it was as though he couldn't control it. He saw the hurt in Kurt's eyes and he died a little inside.

"Blaine I..." Blaine didn't even give Kurt a chance to speak.

"What would you know anyway". God what was wrong with him.

"It's okay Blaine I understand, this whole thing must have been horrible for you" Kurt's voice shook as he spoke and Blaine was horrified to realise that he'd actually scared the other boy. God he couldn't do anything right. What was wrong with him. Kurt was the one person in the world he could always be himself with and here he was lying to him and pushing him away.

"Blaine you can talk to me" Kurt pleaded.

"I'm sorry Kurt I...I just can't" Blaines voice broke on the last word and he let go of Kurt's hand abruptly. "I have to go... I can't be ..." he backed away from the bed trying to ignore the tears in the other boys eyes.

"Blaine please don't, I want to help you" Kurt called out to him, his voice was as high as Blaine had ever heard it and he knew that only ever happened when Kurt was excited or upset.

"No Kurt, I'm sorry" he wrenched the door open and ran from the room ignoring the sound of Kurt calling his name. He didn't know where he was going just that he had to get away from here. Had to go somewhere that he could think without Kurt's eyes seeing straight into his soul. Before he saw how pathetic he was.

By the time he got to the car he'd managed to calm down a little. It was okay. Kurt didn't know, he just thought that Blaine was upset about that man kissing him and groping him. He could still salvage this. He just needed to leave for a little while, to let himself calm down. He could apologise to Kurt when he came back, reassure him and maybe that would be enough. Maybe Kurt would trust him enough not to dig any deeper. He's never hated himself so much in his life.

* * *

><p>Finn and Puck wandered in and out of various stores whilst Finn tried to find something he could get Kurt as a get well present. The third time Puck suggested something completely innappropriate Finn realised that maybe he had been the best choice to bring along. He'd have been much better off bringing one of the girls, but then again the trip wasn't just about getting Kurt a gift, he really needed someone to talk to and despite outward appearances Puck had always been a good listener.<p>

"So you think he's hiding something then" Puck asked as he picked up copy of Portal 2.

Finn shook his head at the game "Yes, I just can't figure out what?"

"Well it was a pretty big deal what those guys went through".

"I know" Finn sighed "That's just it, he's acting like he's okay about it. But I don't think he's handling it aswell as he's making out. I just don't get why he won't admit that".

"Some guys don't like too, he probably doesn't want to seem weak" Puck put the game back on the shelf and ran his eyes over what else was on display.

"It doesn't make him weak" Finn felt the need to defend the boy.

"Hey" Puck put his hands up at Finn's defensive tone. "I know that. I'm just saying that might be what he's thinking."

"Yeah maybe" Finn glanced around the store wondering why they'd even come into a games store in the first place, Kurt really wasn't interested in them. "Come on I give up let's go grab a drink before I head home. I need to be back soon anyway to catch a ride to the hospital".

"Okay" Puck agreed.

They headed towards the juice bar and whilst they we're waiting in line Finn spotted a familiar face. Brittany was sat at a table near the back with another girl who had their back turned to them.

"Hi guys" she called out spotting them when they walked in. The girl she was with spun around and it took Finn a minute to recognise that it was Santana. She had on a pair of jeans and what looked like an old t-shirt but even more shocking than her lack of fashionable attire was the fact that she wasn't wearing any make-up. She looked so much younger than he was used to seeing that it pulled him up short for a minute.

"Hi Brittany, Santana" Finn nodded in her direction but she looked away quickly.

"Now's your chance San, I think you should talk to Finn".

"What do you need to talk to me about Sanata" Finn really didn't have time for one of the girl's dramas right now. But what she said next made him pull his head back in suprise.

"It's about Blaine" and Finn was beyond shocked to see tears in her eyes.

* * *

><p>Burt sighed as he looked at the mess of paperwork on his desk, really couldn't one of the guys at least put it into some sort of pile for him. This was going to take for ever to organise and he really wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with any of it right now. He felt like he'd just been acting on auto-pilot for the last few days and real life had just been put aside, he guessed that couldn't carry on indefinetly. It would have to wait a little bit longer though, at least until Kurt was out of the hospital and home safe where Burt could keep an eye on him.<p>

He took his ever present baseball hat off his head and rubbed a weary hand over his face. Sighing he picked up a pile of paperwork and started to look through it. It turned out to be a waste of time when the phone rang making him drop the ones he was holding.

"Damn it " he said chuckling to himself for being so jumpy.

"Hello Hummel Autorepair" he spoke into the reciever.

"Can I speak to Mr Hummel" a vaguely familiar male voice spoke.

"Speaking".

"Mr Hummel it's Detective Davis, I'm working your son's case".

"Yes Hello, what can I do for you. Please tell me that you've caught the sons of bitches that did this" Burt couldn't contain his excitement at the idea.

"Not yet, but we think we might have ID 'd two of them. The thing is Mr Hummel there have been a couple of things that weren't adding up in Mr Andersons statement and in light of the criminal history of one of the men we think we've identified I think we really need to talk to the boys again."

"What crimal history, what are you talking about?" Burt asked and the color drained from his face as he listened to the other man talk.

* * *

><p>Carole busied herself all morning washing pots that had been left in the sink, catching up on bills that needed paying and making sure they had enough groceries to last them for the next couple of days. She found if she kept herself busy then she didn't have to think about everything that had happened the last few days. It was quite nice to be able to switch off for a little while.<p>

She picked up all the laundry from Finn's bedroom floor and headed to Kurt's room to see if he had any to add to the pile. Opening the door she smiled to herself at how different this room was to Finn's down the hall. Not a thing out of place. Opening the laundry hamper she collected the couple of things that we're at the bottom. Looking around the neat and tidy room she decided it might be quite nice for Kurt to come home to clean bedding, fresh sheets always made her feel better. She stripped the old sheets of the bed and added them to the pile in the hallway. She then made her way to the spare room and the closet where she kept all the spare bedding.

She smiled to see the guest room looking just as tidy as Kurt's bedroom. Blaine and Kurt really did have a lot in common.

The smell hit her as soon as she opened the closet door. It was really unpleasant and she wrinkled her nose up in distaste. Turning the small light on she looked around for the source. It took her a few minutes but she finally spotted something tucked away at the back of the closet. Frowning she reached her hand out and pulled whatever it was out into the light.

* * *

><p>AN: So it's all coming together now, hope you like it. I had so many ideas about how people would find out and then I thought why not use all of them. Maybe a bit unrealsitic that all of these would happen at once but what the hell, I like the idea.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Okay I think this one is going to be upsetting to read, it was for me to write.

* * *

><p>Chapter Fifteen<p>

Burt pulled up in the driveway of his house and turned the engine off. He didn't get out immediatly though, his mind going over and over the conversation he'd just had.

"What criminal history are you talking about?"

"Now it might not mean anything Mr Hummel, I don't want you jumping to any conclusions. I mean after all we haven't even formally identified the man yet".

"Just spit it out" Burt felt his anxiety levels rising.

"One of the men has a long history of violent crime".

Burt waited, knowing that there had to be more to come, something that the detective on the other end seemed reluctant to say.

"The crimes in question, are mostly of a sexual nature".

Burt felt his whole body go cold and he was only vaguely aware that the other man was still talking.

"The thing is Mr Hummel there's quite a large chunk of time unaccounted for in Mr Anderson's statement and in light of this new fact we have reason to believe that something else may have happened that night. So if you could..."

"I have to talk to Blaine" Burt said and hung up the phone.

He couldn't even remember getting into his car let alone the jouney home and yet here he was. He took the keys out of the ignition and walked up to the front door of his house.

As he put the key in the door he heard a truck pull up behind him but he didn't even turn to look, he only had one thing on his mind right now.

"Carole" he shouted into the silence of the house and tried to hold himself together whilst he waited for a reply.

* * *

><p>As Puck pulled up outside Finn's house they could see Burt opening the door and entering, but he didn't turn and acknowledge them.<p>

"What are you going to do now?" Puck asked hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"I don't know. I need to talk to my mom" Finn climbed out of the truck as he spoke.

"Santana could be wrong, he never said what happened" Finn knew Puck was trying to reassure him, but they were way past the point where they could pretend like this wasn't real.

"I don't think she is, it just all adds up you know" Finn rested his hands on the open window for a minute, because as much as he needed to speak to his mom and Burt he was kind of dreading it too.

"I know" Puck admitted. "This is so fucked up man" Finn watched as Puck hit the steering wheel.

"I've gotta go Puck, I'll call later okay" Finn stepped away from the truck.

"Okay" Puck nodded at him and then pulled away from the kerb leaving him standing there. He took a deep breath and made his way up to the house. He noticed the door had been left open and as he walked in he saw Burt stood in the living room calling out his mom's name. The desperation in the older man's voice scared him.

* * *

><p>Carole pulled whatever it was out of the small space it had been crammed into and carried it out into the guest room, frowning down at what she held in her hands. It took her a minute to recognise what she was holding and when she did it only increased her confusion.<p>

It was the clothes that Blaine had been wearing that night, but why would he have hidden them at the back of the closet, that made no sense. Dropping the items onto the bed she recognised the brown jacket and jeans that the boy had been wearing and looking at the blood that had soaked into both of them she knew that they would probaly need throwing away. Not that she could imagine Blaine wanting to wear them again even if she could get the evidence of that night out of them.

She frowned again when she spotted the t-shirt. It was torn and bloody but how was that possible, he'd been wearing his jacket and other than the cut on his head he hadn't been bleeding from anywhere else. the top should be fine not the ruined mess that it clearly was.

Stealing herself she reached to pick it up and take a closer look, as she did something else fell onto the floor. She blushed slightly when she realised that it was Blaine's underwear. Okay she dealt with boys underwear all the time but this felt different, like she was invading his privacy or something. She bent down to pick them up quickly as though worried someone might catch her in the act but then she stopped. She shook her head at what she was seeing, as though trying to deny the evidence in front of her.

She almost jumped out of her skin when Burt's voice called to her from down stairs. Gathering the clothes up in her arms, with tears streaming down her face she headed downstairs.

* * *

><p>Blaine pulled up behind Burt's car in the driveway, he was a little bit disapointed to see both Carole and Burt's cars there. He had hoped he could avoid seeing anyone just yet. His hands were shaking as he gripped the steering wheel. He just felt so dirty, he really needed to have a shower before he could face anyone. He'd driven around aimlessly for a while before deciding his best course of option would be to go back to the house and return to the hospital when everyone else did. He wanted to see Kurt again more than anything but he was scared to face him alone. He didn't want to lie to him anymore but he felt like he'd backed himself into a corner. No matter what now, Kurt was going to hate him, he'd just made everything worse.<p>

Stealing himself for the inevitable questions Burt would have for him, he walked up to the house. He was suprised to find the front door was open and walked towards the living room slowly, feeling a little uneasy for some reason.

Burt and Finn both spun around to face him as he entered the room and just from the looks on both their faces he knew something was wrong.

"Blaine son" Burt spoke, looking directly at him " we need to talk". The fear he could see in the older man's eyes turned the blood in his veins to ice and he found himself taking an unconcious step back towards the front door.

A noise from above them drew all of their attention to the stairs and as all three of them watched Carole came into view, something clutched tightly in her arms and tears streaming down her face.

"Blaine" she said his name as though it hurt her to speak and he found his eyes wandering down to what she had in her hands. As he took in the blood stained clothes he began to shake his head from side to side.

He started to back away slowly until his back hit the door frame and when it did he turned and ran for the car.

It was all falling apart and there was only one place he could go.

He'd been stupid before to be scared because he realised now there was only one place he'd ever felt safe.

Only one place he would ever feel safe again and he couldn't think about anything else as he drove like a madman, tears streaming down his face.

* * *

><p>Kurt sat and stared into space. His tears had dried up a while ago and after several attempts to get Blaine to answer his phone he'd given up. Now he sat and and tried to focus everything that was going on in his head.<p>

Blaine's outburst earlier had scared him, he'd never seen the other boy so out of control before. He wanted, needed to see him. He needed to let him know that it was okay, that he wasn't angry with him.

He couldn't get the image of that man kissing Blaine out of his head, the fear in his boyfriend's eyes. He couldn't believe that he hadn't said anything, that he'd suffered all this time in silence.

But he still couldn't understand why the other boy hadn't told the whole truth about what had really happened. Sure it was horrible and even a little bit embarrasing in a strange way but that didn't really explain it.

Unless he was lying to Kurt.

What if those men hadn't just ran off like Blaine said. Kurt wanted to believe that's what had happened but it was getting harder and harder to convice himself that that was the case. If Blaine had lied to everyone else about what Kurt knew had really happened then who's to say he wasn't still lying now.

But why would he do that, who exactly was Blaine protecting.

Kurt felt sick as another thought occured to him.

Blaine thought he was protecting him.

He had to find Blaine now. He started to push himself off the bed, fully intending to go find him no matter what it took but then the door to his room opened and it didn't matter anymore. Because there he was.

Blaine stood in the doorway with tears streaming down his face and Kurt found his own eyes filling up at the sight of the broken boy before him.

Kurt held his hands out and Blaine walked slowly over to the bed and sat down in the chair next to it. He grasped one of Kurts hands in his and then let his head sink onto the bed next to him so that his face was buried in the mattress. Kurt put his other hand on the curly mop of hair and he could feel the silent sobs that shook Blaine's frame.

He knew then that everything he'd been thinking, everything he'd feared was true.

He couldn't hear the words at first but as he strained to listen he heard what Blaine was whispering repeatedly.

"I'm so sorry, I've ruined everything".

He sensed rather than heard the others enter the room and looking up he saw the concerned faces of his family looking back at him. Looking at his father he pleaded with him silently for help and Burt took a few steps closer to the bed, not wanting to startle Blaine.

"Blaine" Kurt spoke gently.

Blaine didn't respond but he stopped repeating the phrase from a moment ago.

"I need you to be honest now" Blaine's shoulders tensed up. "Did those men hurt you?"

Nothing at first then a nod, barely there, but Kurt felt it under his hand. He tilted his head back as the tears came thick and fast now.

"What did they do to you Blaine?" he didn't want to ask the question, didn't want to hear the answer but he knew there was no other option now, he had to see this through.

"I can't...I don't..." Blaine's words we're muffled by the bed but everyone in the room could hear the anguish in them.

"Please Blaine, I can't help you if you won't tell me" Kurt was pleading now, the hand that was in Blaine's hair gently stroking.

"I can't. Don't make me say it" Blaine was pleading back.

Burt stepped forward then and put a hand on Blaine's shoulder gently. Blaine flicnched from the contact but Burt didn't remove his hand.

"Blaine I think you need to say it" Burt said.

Blaine didn't seem suprised that the others we're there, in fact he didn't seem to care.

"I can't" one more plea, but this one was much quieter than the last, lacked the strength that the others had.

Kurt looked around the room, at the people who were in there. Everone was crying now even Finn who stood next to his mom, his hand tightly clenched in hers. Burt stood with his hand on Blaine's shoulder and looked at Kurt nodding at him to carry on.

Kurt took a deep breath and spoke one last time.

"Please Blaine, for me. Tell us what happened".

Even though they all knew what he was going to say, it didn't lesson the impact of hearing those words come from his mouth.

In the moment that he spoke all of there worst fears we're realised.

Three words that changed everything, whispered quitely and with such pain.

"They raped me".

* * *

><p>AN: So um yeah, review?


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Thankyou so much for all the lovely reviews for the last chapter, I'm glad no-one seemed disappointed after I spent so long getting to that point. This one feels a bit fillery, but it was kind of hard to follow on from the last one. Still lot's of angsty goodness, there will be fluff and light at some point I promise, just not yet.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Sixteen<p>

The words hung heavy in the air. Everyone was silent, because really, what could you say after that.

Burt squeezed Blaine's shoulder but couldn't speak past the huge lump in his throat.

Carole felt Finn pull his hand from hers and then he was gone, through the door and running. She gave one heartbroken look at her husband and then followed her son out of the room.

Kurt continued to stroke his boyfriend's hair as the other boy cried his heart out.

"It's okay Blaine, everything's going to be okay" and he wanted to believe that more than anything in the world.

* * *

><p>Finn didn't know why he did it, he just knew that he couldn't be in that room anymore. Couldn't watch as Blaine fell apart.<p>

He ran down the hallway only stopping when he heard his mom's desperate cry behind him.

"Finn please, stop" the words stopped him dead in his tracks, because where was he running to exactly. There was no where he could go that this wouldn't be real. He leant back against the wall and let his feet slide from under him so that he ended up sitting on the floor with his back to it. His long legs took up most of the corridor but luckily there didn't seem to be many people about. He shut his eyes and let the tears run down his cheeks.

He felt him mom sit down beside him and let her pull his head down onto her chest. He only realised she was crying too when he felt her tears hit the back of his neck.

"This is just so..."Finn didn't finish the sentence, didn't know what he was trying to say. Couldn't put into words how he felt right now.

"I know honey" Carole agreed.

"We should have known" he looked up at her with pleading eyes and saw the same pain he felt reflected there.

"None of us realised".

"We should have" Finn insisted. Because he'd known something was wrong. Okay never in his worst nightmares had he imagined something as bad as this, but still.

"Maybe, but if Blaine didn't want us to know, how could we".

"I don't understand, why would he keep this a secret?"

"I'm sure there's lots of reasons, a big part of something like this is the shame" Carole sighed.

"He shouldn't feel ashamed, it wasn't his fault".

"I know that but when something like this happens it just messes with your head so much. Blaine seems like he likes to come across as the strong one, he probably thinks he should have been able to do something to stop them" his mom seemed so sad as she spoke those words.

"God this is so fucked up" Carole never even flinched. "How do we..., what do we do now. I don't even know what to say to him. I'm not sure I can face him, what if I say the wrong thing?"

"It's going to be hard Finn, so much harder than anything we've ever done before, but the thing we need to remember is, that Blaine's going to need us, even if he doesn't think so. The best thing we can do right now is just be there for him, even if you don't say a word to him just by being there with him through all that's going to come that will speak a thousand words".

"Oh god I just ran out of there, why did I do that" Finn gasped out.

"To be honest honey, I don't think Blaine even noticed. But we should probably go back now, Blaine and Kurt are going to need all the support we can give them."

Finn stood and then helped his mom get up. Finn wasn't sure he was ready to go back in that room, but he knew this wasn't about him. However bad he was feeling he couldn't imagine what Blaine was going through. They walked back down the corridor hand in hand.

* * *

><p>Burt stood with his hand on Blaine's shoulder and tried not to let any of the anger he was feeling bleed through into his fingers. He felt like breaking something but he knew the last thing either of those boys needed right now was to have to deal with his anger.<p>

He looked at his son, but Kurt only had eyes for Blaine. His hand continued to stroke lazy circles in his boyfriend's hair and tears continued to run down his face.

Blaine's shoulders stopped shaking and he seemed to be getting himself back under control. At least that's what Burt thought, until he heard the words start to spill from the boy's mouth. They were slightly muffled because Blaine still had his head buried in the mattress. Burt realised that he was nervous for the moment when he could see Blaine's face, he wasn't sure he could handle what he would see there.

"I'm so sorry " Blaine began. "I've ruined everything, it's all my fault. I should have stopped them".

All the while he was speaking Kurt was shaking his head muttering the same word over and over "No".

Blaine didn't seem to hear though, just kept repeating himself. Kurt removed his hand from the curly mess of hair and put it on top of where Blaine clutched his other hand in both of his.

"Please Blaine, don't say those things" Burt hated the pain that he heard in his son's voice.

"Blaine I need you to look at me" Kurt said but Blaine just ignored him and kept muttering words of self hatred.

"I'm such a coward. You must hate me. I'm so sorry".

"Blaine please" Kurt pleaded and was rewarded with Blaine raising his head slightly from the bed. From where he was stood behind Blaine he couldn't see his face but he could see Kurt's and that was enough to cause his grip to tighten on the smaller boy's shoulder. He regretted it as soon as he felt Blaine tense up.

"I'm so sorry Kurt, please don't hate me" the words were much clearer now and all the more heartbreaking for it.

"Oh Blaine" Kurt ran a finger down the other boys face smiling sadly at him. "I could never hate you. I need you to know two things. One is that I love you, nothing will ever change that and the other thing" Kurt paused to take a breath before he continued, " is that this wasn't your fault".

Burt had never been prouder of his son than he was right then.

"He's right Blaine" Burt finally found his voice. "No matter what you think, you've done nothing wrong" some of the anger he'd been doing so well to keep under control seeped out then. "It was those sick bastards fault" he felt Blaine tense under his hand again. "And when you're ready I need you to speak to the police so we can make sure they pay for it".

Blaine turned to look at him and Burt felt his knees go weak at what he could see in the other boy's eyes. Pain, suffering and most of all shame. In fact Blaine could only meet his eyes for a second before he looked away again. Burt felt bad because he was relieved that he didn't have to look into those pits of despair anymore.

"I don't think I can" his voice sounded so defeated and tired, but yet he pulled his hands away from Kurt's and stood up. "I don't want any of this".

"I know" Burt said dropping his hand from his shoulder. "But we can't just pretend like none of this happened".

"Why can't we?" Blaine was looking at him again now and Burt could see that he was starting to panic.

"Because that won't fix anything, that's not how it works son".

Blaine seemed to fold in on himself at Burt's words. He wrapped his arms around himself and hugged them to him. "I'm just so tired" he barely spoke above a whisper.

"I know Blaine" Burt couldn't understand how his heart could keep breaking over and over, surely once was enough. He reached his arms out to the boy and saw the internal struggle that Blaine went through when he saw the gesture. He could tell that Blaine really wanted to let him hold him but that he still didn't want to look weak.

"Please Blaine let us help you" Burt took a step forward and Blaine let him wrap his arms around him. He felt the broken boy stiffen in his arms for a second before he relaxed into the hold. He held him tightly whilst sobs shook his body and when Blaine's legs gave out on him he sank to the floor with him, never once letting go. He was vaguely aware that Carole and Finn had returned and that everyone in the room was watching them but he never once let go of the boy in his arms. He just held him and let him fall apart.

* * *

><p>Carole walked over to the bed where Kurt lay watching his father hold his boyfriend. She gently took his hand in hers and he looked up at her with fear filled eyes.<p>

"I don't know what to do for him" he admitted looking back at the two people sat on the floor. Blaine's sobs had gotten quieter but they still stayed where they were.

"I know Kurt. I know this seems like the worst thing in the world right now, but we'll get through this. We'll help Blaine get through this and you're not in this alone. Okay?" Carole said the words that needed to be said without having to think about it. She knew that she needed to be strong now, needed to look like she knew what to do. But inside she couldn't help but worry that she was going to do or say something wrong. Just because she was an adult she knew all the boys in the room expected her to have all the answers, as if being a mom meant she knew what she was doing. She prayed that they never found out that she was just as lost as all of them.

Kurt nodded and she was pleased to see a little relief in the slight boy's eyes.

"Come on Blaine, let's get you up" Burt's voice drew her attention back to the two of them. Blaine had sat back, breaking his embrace with Burt, but he kept his head down as though afraid to meet anyone's eyes.

Finn stepped forward to offer his help but Blaine ignored it and started to stand on his own. He only got half way though before he stopped with a sharp hiss.

Carole watched with a frown on her face as he continued to straighten up, reading the tell tale signs that he was in pain on his face.

"Blaine" she tried to draw his attention to her but he wouldn't look. She continued anyway " Are you hurt?"

Blaine started to shake his head, even now the need to pretend he was okay was still going strong.

"I saw your clothes Blaine" Carole persisted. "Your t-shirt was all torn up and it had...blood on it."

"Um yeah, I ...they roughed me up a bit" Blaine finally admitted.

"I know this is hard Blaine but you need to trust us now. You have to let us help you" Carole continued to reassure the frightened boy.

"I know. It's just...it's hard you know" and now he did look at her, only for a second before he quickly averted his eyes again. But it was long enough for Carole to see a hundred different emotions flare in them. He was crying out for help that he didn't know how to ask for.

Carole walked over to him then and placed a hand gently on his cheek. She felt him swallow thickly as she did. "Please just let me look, you don't want to make an old lady worry do you?" she smiled at him.

Blaine didn't answer but he did pull the long sleeved top he was wearing up slightly.

Carole bit back the gasp that threatened to escape when she saw the multi-colored mess that was his stomach.

A choked off sob came from behind her and she knew that Kurt hadn't been able to keep his own reaction in check.

"Oh Blaine".

"It's not as bad as it looks" Blaine was quick to try and reassure his boyfriend.

"No more lies Blaine" Burt spoke up and looking over at her husband Carole could see how horrified Burt was at what they all could see. "You need to see a doctor, and I'm sorry but I'm not taking no for an answer". Carole could tell it was killing Burt to be so harsh sounding but they both knew that Blaine needed to hear this.

"Okay" Blaine's shoulders slumped and Carole was saddened to see the fight go out of him but was also glad that he was willing to do this. Then he looked at her again "would you...would you go with me please, I don't think I can do this on my own".

"Of course I will honey, of course I will". The thought of it actually terrified her but how could she deny him her help now that he was finally asking for it.

Blaine looked over at Kurt again then and Kurt seemed to know what he was thinking.

"It's okay Blaine, go. I'll be right here waiting when you're done. I'm not going anywhere".

"Okay then" Blaine seemed to draw strength from the words "let's go get this over with".

Carole didn't have the heart to tell him this was just the beginning of a long road. She gave one last look at her family and followed Blaine out of the room. She wasn't sure she was equiped for this but there was no way she was going to let him down now. She just hoped she could be strong enough to help him.

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><p>AN: Well hopefully that wasn't too boring after all the build up to the last chapter. So the healing begins, but it's not going to be an easy journey, plenty of potholes along the way.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hi everyone, thanks to everyone who's sticking with this. I did some research on this so hopefully it works.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Seventeen<p>

Blaine had the strongest sensation of deja vu. He was sitting on a hospital bed, being treated by the same nurse that he had seen just three nights earlier. He couldn't believe it had been such a short period of time because it felt like a lifetime ago.

He had followed Carole down to the main reception and sat patiently in one of the waiting room chairs whilst she'd gone off to find someone. Judging by the look of relief on her face when she reappeared in the doorway a few minutes later, he knew she must have been worried that he might not have been there when she returned.

She had sat down next to him and taken one of his hands in hers and whilst it was kind of nice, he still had to fight the compulsion to pull away.

"Blaine" Carole spoke gently. "Someone will come get us in a minute". He'd nodded at her then, as if he was fine with the idea, when inside he just wanted to run back up to Kurt's room and hide from the world. Just because he'd told these people what had happened it didn't mean he was up for any of this. He was only going along with it because he couldn't see any other option.

"I was thinking" Carole drew his attention back to her. "We really need to call your parents".

Blaine did pull his hand from her grip then. "No" the word came out harsher than he intended but he couldn't help the surge of panic that her suggestion gave him.

"Blaine they have to know". He knew she was right, there was no way he could keep this from them anymore. But the thought of having to deal with them on top of everything else that was happening at the minute was almost to much to handle. He looked up at the clock on the wall and discovered a way out of it for now.

"Look it'll be really late in Italy right now. I don't want to worry them, can I just call them in the morning?"

Carole sighed as though she's been expecting some kind of excuse. "Okay Blaine, but first thing tomorrow, I need you to promise me that".

"I will, I promise" Blaine agreed because at least that was one less thing to deal with tonight.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and all the time they sat there Blaine could feel his anxiety levels rising. He didn't know what was coming exactly but he knew it wouldn't be good.

"I thought I recognised that name" a vaguley familiar voice drew his attention to the doorway and he was startled to see the nurse that had treated him the other night smiling in at him.

"Kate" she reminded him when he looked at her blankly. He remembered now how nice she's been to him and for some reason that made him feel slightly better about what was about to happen, only slightly though.

"I see you finally gave in and decided to get yourself checked over properly" she said smiling as she looked over the notes in her hand. Blaine wondered how much Carole had already told them but when the nurse stopped reading suddenly and looked at him with no trace of the smile he had his answer.

"Um do you want to follow me" she said, the easy familiarity from a moment ago had gone now and she seemed subdued.

Blaine and Carole had followed her to a private room that seemed to be tucked out of the way. He wondered if it was the room that they always used for situations like this. It was depressing to think how much pain and suffering these four walls might have been witness to over the years.

She had disappeared for a while and then come back in to let them know a doctor would be in soon. Blaine was trying not to watch as she pulled various things out of draws. He couldn't help notice the camera though.

"What's that for?" he asked.

"We need to take photos as evidence for the kit".

Blaine started to shake his head. He didn't want this, didn't want any of it. He felt like he was staring into a dark tunnel, but the light everyone always spoke of was nowhere in sight, instead the tunnel just seemed to go for ever, neverending darkness.

"I know this is hard" Kate was looking right at him now as she tried to reasure him. "This is all just standard procedure. We collect the evidence and then the hospital can hold it until you decide what you want to do about it. At this point it's all still up to you what you want to happen from here. Let's just do this one thing at a time okay and if you choose not to do anything with it that's up to you, but at least then you'll have a choice." He wondered how many times she'd given that speech. He knew he didn't really have a choice anyway, he'd lost control of the whole situation the second he'd made his blubbering confession in Kurt's room earlier. He hated how weak that made him.

"We need to see what injuries you have anyway so let's just deal with everything else as it comes up okay?" Kate continued.

Blaine nodded even though it was as far from okay as you could get.

The doctor came in not long after that and Blaine was relieved to see that it was a woman.

"Hi I'm Dr Sanders" she introduced herself. "Shall we get started" she was all business but Blaine didn't mind that, he was actually starting to get sick of the kiddie gloves everyone else seemed to be handling him with. It just reinforced the idea that everyone saw him as this fragile, broken thing.

"Can you please strip down to your underwear". Okay maybe a little less business would be nice. Blaine found that his hands were shaking as he slowly removed his top and jeans. He wondered whether he'd be able to get through this if he felt this bad just about getting undressed.

Kate gently removed the dressings that Santana had applied so that all of his various injuries we're exposed to the harsh lights of the room. He tried not to meet anyone's eyes as Kate picked the camera up and started taking photos, but he could see the looks of shock and disgust they were sending his way.

Dr Sanders waited until Kate put the camera down and then proceeded to gently prod and touch various places, all the while checking to make sure he was okay with it. He hissed in pain when she ran a hand over his ribs.

"This is going to hurt a bit" she warned him and pressed down hard on the area. He tried not to pull away from her but couldn't help the gasp that escaped him.

"I don't think they're broken, nothings shifting in there so we'll just wrap them for now". Blaine was relived to hear that. "Some of these cuts look like they might be infected" she said frowning as she took a closer look.

"I've been taking antibiotics" Blaine fumbled around in his jeans that sat next to him on the bed pulling out the bottle that Santana gave to him.

Dr Sanders frowned as she picked them up "These are completely unsuitable, where did you get them?"

"I got them from home, they were left over from when I had a chest infection earlier in the year" the lie came to him easily. He didn't want to get Santana in trouble, even though he had a feeling she had betrayed his trust to Finn.

"Well they won't do. I'll prescribe you something else" the doctor wrote something in her notes and then continued her examination. She looked over the rest of the bruises and cuts quickly before moving her attention to the dark bruising surrounding his throat. He grew unconfortable under her scrutiny.

"Can you tell me how these happened?" she said after what felt like forever. Blaine wasn't expecting that question and it he wasn't sure why it mattered.

"If I know how they were made I can better assess the type of damage that may have been caused" the doctor explained when he failed to answer.

"One of the men... he..um .. he put his hands around my throat and..."Blaine trailed off shifting unconfortably on the bed. He saw Carole put her hand to her mouth out of the corner of his eye.

"How much pressure did he use?" even the doctors voice was gentler now.

"I don't understand".

"Did you pass out at any point?" she pressed.

"Yeah I think so" he tried not to think about those thick fingers wrapped around his throat, cutting of the air until he thought he was going to die, and how a small part of him had welcomed it.

He didn't realise that he was starting to panic until he felt a hand slip into his and Carole softly speaking to him. "It's okay Blaine, you're safe now, it's okay".

"Are you okay?" Kate asked him once his breathing was back under control. He gave yet another slight nod.

"Well seeing as it's been a few days since the attack I'm going to assume that there's no serious damage, something like that would have made itself known by now. Kate here needs to take some swabs and some blood samples. Then I'll need you to remove your underwear and put a gown on so I can check for any other damage". Save the best for last, Blaine couldn't contain a slightly odd sounding laugh at that. Carole shot him a concerned look and really, why wouldn't she, because this was as far from from funny as you could get. He gave himself a mental shake, he really didn't want anyone seeing how close to losing it he was right now.

He watched as Kate removed several large cotton swabs from a packet and then lay bags out to put them in.

"Can you open your mouth for me Blaine" Kate asked and he did. He stared at the wall and tried to be anywhere but here, in this room as she ran the swab around the inside of his mouth. He only registered what the doctor had said about drawing blood when Kate started tapping a vein in his arm. He pulled away sharply before she could insert the needle.

"Why do you need to draw blood?" Great now his voice was shaking, was it possible to seem any more pathetic?

"There are a few tests we need to run" Dr Sanders explained.

"What for?" He didn't even know why he asked the question because now that he thought about it it was pretty obvious. He couldn't believe he hadn't thought about it before. The room spun alarmingly as all the awful possibilities whirled in his head.

"Certain sexually transmitted diseases, the most obvious one being HIV of course". He flet Carole squeeze his hand a little tighter at the word.

Blaine knew how this worked, he'd been very thorough in his research when he'd looked up all the sex stuff awhile ago. He knew that even if the first test came back negative he'd have to be tested again in a few months time. This really was never going to be over. He was so caught up in imagining all the horrible possibilities that he didn't even feel the needle go in as Kate quickly and efficiently drew the blood she needed. He did however notice the bright red vials of blood sitting on the side. He wondered if any one of them contained his death sentence.

"Can you put this on now?" Kate handed him a hospital gown.

"Do you want me to stay?" Carole spoke up beside him. He honestly didn't know, because this was the most humiliating thing he'd ever experienced and when he really thought about it he didn't even know Kurt's step mom that well. Did he really want her seeing what was about to happen? He wasn't sure of anything other than the fact that her hand holding his was the only thing keeping him solid now. He had a feeling that if she let go he'd just start to disintergrate until there was nothing left. Instead of answering her he just squeezed her hand tighter.

He only let go of her hand whilst he performed the neccasary act of removing his underwear and slipping the open backed gown over his shoulders and then grabbed it again tightly.

He held it whilst he lay down on his side. He held it whilst Kate took her swabs. He held it whilst Dr Sanders prodded and poked. He held it and tried not to listen as Dr Sanders mentioned tearing. He held it whilst the tears ran down his face. He held it whilst the last shred of his dignity was taken from him.

* * *

><p>AN: I don't want to put it the notes and ruin the suspense but if anyone wants to know the results of the of the tests just ask and i'll tell you.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Sorry this is late and please excuse any mistakes, I am sooooo tired, but I didn't want to leave you hanging. This is my least favourite chapter so don't shoot me I have lots planned for the next few.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Eighteen<p>

Finn felt like he was intruding but he also didn't think he could leave the room without looking insensitive. He chose instead to sit quietly in the corner of the room.

"I remembered what happened Dad" Kurt was talking calmly but the paleness of his face told the story of how scared he was.

"Can you tell me about it?" Finn was impressed by Burt's restraint because he knew how much the man wanted Kurt to tell him.

Kurt nodded and Finn held his breath as his step brother began to speak.

"Those guys just came out of nowhere and grabbed us. We tried to fight back but they just..."Kurt trailed off then, his cheeks coloring up with shame.

"It's okay Kurt, you don't have anything to feel ashamed of" Burt could read Kurt better than anyone.

Kurt didn't reply to that and Finn sensed that Kurt didn't agree with his dad. He listened as Kurt continued to tell what he remembered from that night. Neither he nor Burt interupted as Kurt haltingly filled them in on some of the missing details.

Finn could see Burt getting tenser and tenser as Kurt spoke, but he was clearly trying hard to keep himself in check. When Kurt got to the part about one of the man stamping on his hand Finn saw Burt clench his hands into tight fists. He started to worry that Burt was going to pop a blood vessel with all the anger he was trying to keep under control. When Kurt started to cry as he spoke about watching that man kiss and grope Blaine he thought Burt was finally going to lose it but the man was like a statue.

"Oh God Dad why didn't I stop them?" Kurt choked out.

"You did everything you could Kurt" Finn was impressed that Burt's voice sounded so controlled, although maybe a little husky with emotion.

"But it wasn't enough was it?" Kurt's voice was bitter now.

"Don't Kurt, don't blame yourself for any of this. Terrible things happen and sometimes we can't do anything to stop them. All we can do is not let them destroy us after the fact. Do you think Blaine is at fault in any of this?"

"Of course not" Kurt seemed a little angry now.

"Then don't do that to yourself either. You are not weak Kurt and neither is Blaine and nothing that happened that night is going to change that."

Kurt looked up at his father with such love that Finn felt a small spark of jealousy, that he was quick to extinguish.

Kurt looked like he was about to say something but didn't get the chance because the door opened and a doctor walked in, clipboard in hand.

"Hi.. sorry, was I interupting?" he said clearly recognising that there was an atmsophere in the room.

"No it's fine" Kurt ran a hand quickly over his face, making sure all traces of his earlier tears were gone.

"Well let's see how you're doing then shall we" the doctor was all forced cheerfullness and it seemed out of place in light of everything they were going through right now.

Kurt submitted to the various checks the doctor carried out without complaint, anxiously waiting for the verdict.

"Well everything seems to be healing up nicely. Would you like to hear some good news?"

"More than you could imagine" Kurt said.

"Well then." the man seemed a little taken aback by the emotion in the young man's reply. "I think we should be able to let you go home tomorrow".

"Really? Doc that's fantastic" Burt smiled for the first time in a long while.

"Of course you'll need to take it easy but I don't see why not" the doctor smiled back.

"Thanks" Burt pumped the man's hand vigourosly as though he'd just told him the best news ever.

"Ermm you're welcome " Finn got the impression the man was starting to think they were all a little weird. "Well I'll leave you to it" he said picking his notes up and heading out of the room. As he opened the door he almost bumped into Carole and Blaine. He gave them a nod and left.

Finn was shocked at the appearence of both of them. His mom looked like she was barely holding it together and Blaine...well Blaine looked like a robot. Finn realised that was a rather childish description but it was the only word that seemed to fit. For someone who liked to come across as very controlled Blaine was actually very expressive, his feelings usually written across his face for all to see, which is why the blank look that he was sporting right now was so disturbing. Finn could see his eyes and the deadness in them was chilling.

Kurt held his arms out and Blaine walked wearily over to sit in his usual place by Kurt's side. He once again grasped Kurt's hand in his own and rested his head on the mattress. Kurt resumed his earlier act of running his hand through his boyfriend's hair, clearly trying to offer whatever comfort he could.

Finn watched his mom and Burt engage in a silent exchange so wasn't suprised when Burt walked over to her and said "Not here, we'll go get some coffee." Burt turned to him then and said "Keep an eye on them for me". Finn met his eye and let him know without speaking that he would do exactly that.

Finn waited until they left before he returned his gaze to the other two boys. A thought flashed through his mind that he immediatly felt guilty for, because for a split second he couldn't help but feel relieved that he wasn't either of them.

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><p>AN: I know. Sorry it's short. Carole and Burt's conversation was supposed to be in this one aswell but i'm too tired and distracted to be able to do it right now. I'll squeeze it into the next one instead so that should be quite a long one, sorry again.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hi guys, I'm back and raring to go, so I guess that means I've got no excuse if this is rubbish, lol. Also thank you so much to all my lovely reviewers, you are my motivation.

Don't own 'em.

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><p>Chapter Nineteen<p>

Carole and Burt sat in a corner of the canteen, away from anyone else. Burt watched as Carole shakily raised her cup of coffee to her lips before changing her mind and putting it back down untouched. She didn't remove her hand from the cardboard cup as though she was trying to soak up some of the warmth, despite the fact it was summer, clearly she was feeling a chill from somewhere.

"It was a awful"Carole's chin trembled as she spoke. Burt reached a hand out and placed it over his wife's.

"It's okay, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to" he reassured her.

"No, no you need to know. Plus how can we expect Blaine to be open with us and tell us anything if I can't even talk about it".

Burt chose not to speak and just waited for Carole to compose herself enough to tell him what had just happened.

He listened in horror as she described the injuries that Blaine had been hiding from them. "He didn't really say what had happened but the doctor asked him about the bruises on his neck" Carole started to pick at the edge of her coffee cup. " One of those bastards tried to strangle him Burt" she was crying now but Burt once again just wanted to break something. He knew all this pent up rage wasn't good for him but he couldn't help it.

"My god, how did we miss all that" Burt finally responded. "I feel like we've really failed that kid".

"He's very good at hiding his true feelings. In fact I think it's something he's always been good at" Carole finally took a sip of her coffee.

Burt knew what she meant, as much as he liked Blaine he'd always felt like the boy was holding something back. Not so much that he wasn't being genuine but that he felt he needed to keep his true self contained. The only times Burt felt like he was seeing the real Blaine was when the other boy hadn't realised he was being watched. Burt had seen the adoration in his eyes when he was looking at Kurt. The love he had seen on the other boy's face in those moments had helped him enormously in accepting Blaine as Kurt's boyfriend. Having spoken to his father he could understand a little more of why Blaine was always trying so hard to be perfect, constantly trying to live up to that man's expectations must be a very hard way to go through life. Of course Blaine's parents would have to be told about what had happened and Burt couldn't help but wonder if Blaine's dad would finally think his son was more important than his work. Another part of him was scared that he might just make everything a whole lot worse. He decided in that moment that he would do whatever it took to make sure Blaine got through this okay, even if it meant taking on his father.

"Where do we go from here?" Carole broke into his thoughts.

"Well we'll need to tell his parents of course".

"I promised him we'd leave that till the morning. I know they need to be told but to be honest I don't know if even I'm ready to open that can of worms yet" Carole admitted.

"Well there's the police aswell. As much as I'd like to let Blaine set the pace, god knows I don't want to force him into anything, the fact is they already have an idea something happened. That's what I came home to tell you. They rang me at the shop to say they think they've indentified two of the men that did it".

"Have they arrested them yet?" Carole interupted.

"I didn't really give them chance to tell me anything, as soon as he told me their suspisions I came straight home to talk to you and then's when this all blew up in our faces. In fact I should call them before we go back up to the boys, the last thing we need is them just showing up, I don't want Blaine thinking we've gone behind his back. He needs to know he can trust us".

Carole agreed with him. They sat there pretending to drink their coffees for a while before Carole spoke again.

"There's something else. They took some blood tests" Burt's heart sank at the words because he knew what she was going to say.

"The doctor said that we should be able to get the results back early tomorrow"

"I thought those things took a while to come back" Not that Burt wasn't pleased, at least this was one torture that wasn't going to be dragged out for them all, but he was under the impression that HIV tests always took a while to show anything up.

"Apperently things have improved in recent years so they're a lot quicker now" Carole assured him.

"Good at least we'll know one way or the other soon then. Did the doctor have any idea as to whether that was likely?"

"She said that with the amount of tearing" Carole tried to say the word without flinching but wasn't entirley succsseful, "that if any of them had it then the risk of infection is quite high" she finished sadly.

Burt wasn't much for praying but he sent a silent one up just then that that kind, sweet boy who had already been put through so much wouldn't have this to suffer aswell.

* * *

><p>Kurt watched his boyfriend sleeping. He wasn't sure when it had happened but after a while he'd noticed that Blaine's breathing had evened out and slowed down. He carried on stroking his hair though, beacuse the action was just as calming for him as it was for the other boy. He was glad that Blaine had finally allowed himself to drift off as he was clearly exhausted. Kurt had always liked the carefully gelled look that Blaine usually sported but he hadn't realised how much he would love the feel of his boyfriends soft curls slipping through his fingers. The reason for it saddened him though, because Blaine wasn't choosing to look this way instead it was yet another thing he was neglecting about himself. Looking at his sallow complexion and sweaty skin Kurt wondered what else he had been failing to do for himself. He was glad he was getting out of hospital soon because then he could be there for Blaine, to make sure he ate and that he was getting enough sleep so that he wouldn't end up taking exhausted cat naps when he could.<p>

But part of him was relieved that Blaine was asleep because it meant he didn't have to think what he was going to say to the broken boy. He wanted Blaine to know how much he cared for him and how bad he felt about what had happened but he was terrified of saying the wrong thing. He looked up to see Finn watching him. When Finn saw him looking he stood and came to sit in the seat nearer the bed on the opposite side to Blaine.

"How you doing?" Finn asked.

"Honestly I don't know" Kurt replied.

" I get that" Finn responded. "It's like I don't know how to act, what to say or do, you know".

Kurt competely understood what Finn was saying. He knew that they wern't the first people in the world to be in this situation but it wasn't as if it came with a how to book on what to do. It was so far removed from their normal experiences that he felt like he'd been thrown in the deep end of the pool and now they were all just expected to know how to swim, he just hoped no-one ended up drowning because of it.

"Do you think he'll be allright?" Finn nodded at the for now peaceful boy.

I hope so" Kurt answered honestly.

"Yeah me too" Finn gave him his usual lopsided smile, but this one timid and unsure."I just want to let you know that if you guys need anything, even if it's just someone to talk to, I'm here."

Kurt was overcome with emotion at the simple statement. The two of them may have had some issues in the past but in recent times Kurt couldn't have asked for a better brother.

"Thank you Finn" he smiled back at his step-brother.

There was a small knock at the door and they both looked up as a small dark haired woman walked into the room.

"Kurt" she said and Kurt could tell that Finn was looking curiously at the shocked expression on his face.

"Mrs Anderson" he greeted her back. He refused to move his hand from his boyfriend' hair despite the disapproving look she gave him.

Kurt looked over at the door hoping to see his parents coming through it, saving him from having to answer the questions she would have, but no such luck. He hoped they'd at least return before Blaine woke up and had to face his mom, but it seemed like the fates really were out to get him as he felt Blaine stir beneath his hand.

He looked down at him so that when Blaine raised his head he was the first thing he saw. Blaine blinked the sleep from his eyes and smiled up at him and then Kurt watched as the pull on his split lip caused Blaine to wince. Whatever dream Blaine had been in the middle of vanished and reality sunk in. He watched with a heavy heart as the smile slipped from Blaine's lips and the light faded from his eyes.

"Blaine" the word caused a spark of fear to flash in his eyes as he turned his head towards the woman stood in the doorway and Kurt felt him clench his hand even tighter. He squeezed back to let Blaine know he wasn't going anywhere, that he would be with him through whatever was to come. He just had to hope that would be enough.

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><p>AN: After the response I got to the HIV question I decided to see if I could get away with answering the question sooner without it seeming unrealistic. So I did a bit of research and it turns out you can get results a lot quicker nowadays that I thought so I'm going to resolve that part of the story fairly soon because I don't think it's something I should play about with.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: So this site seems to be playing up (nothing new there then) so I hope those who want to read this, see it.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty<p>

Blaine heard his mom say his name and a spike of fear shot through him. He swung his head around to see her standing at the door looking over at both of them. He resisted the impulse to let go of Kurt's hand, because as much as he knew his mom wouldn't approve it was the only thing keeping him grounded at the moment. Instead of letting go he actually grasped it a little bit tighter and was pleased when he felt Kurt return the gesture. Looking behind her his panic lessened slightly when he realised she was alone.

"Oh Blaine" she exclaimed on seeing the state of his face but he noticed that she remained where she was, didn't exactly rush to his side to inspect the damage further, to offer comfort and sweet kisses. He almost chuckled to himself at the thought, but managed to contain it at the last second. He really needed to get a better handle on these weird impulses.

"It looks worse than it feels" the lie came easily enough, he was used to hiding how he really felt from the woman. He refused to look over at Kurt though because he didn't want to see what he was thinking.

"Well that's good because you look awful".

"Where's Dad?" Blaine was afraid to ask the question because if his father was here aswell then he wasn't sure he could handle that. His mother alone was enough. He'd really hoped to avoid either of them, at least until tomorrow. He needed a clear head to be able to speak to them and he was just so exhausted right now he knew there was a good chance that he was going to say something he might regret later.

"Still in Italy, we decided that in light of Mr Hummel's phone call it might be best if one of us was here with you. I have to say I'm a little disappointed in you Blaine, you really led me to believe that this was a minor matter."

Blaine wasn't sure if that was true or not. So he hadn't told her much about what had happened, he'd let her make her own conclusions, but she hadn't exactly pushed the issue had she? Surely most parents would have wanted to see for themselves that their son was allright. He had to wonder why the sudden interest now . He got his answer when she continued speaking.

"The Hummels must think we're terrible parents, your father was quite angry about the way Mr Hummel spoke to him on the phone." So there it was, yet again Blaine had managed to embarrass them.

"Well I'm sure my father is sorry, but this has been a pretty emotional time" Kurt's voice spoke up beside him. Blaine loved the way Kurt jumped to his father's defence.

"Yes well, I'm sure it's been upsetting." his mom seemed a little flustered in the face of Kurt's words. "It's not pleasant to see your son in a hospital bed, I'm well aware of that".

"You don't have to be in a hospital bed to be hurting" Kurt's sharp tone caused Blaine's mom's eyes to widen in suprise. Blaine shot Kurt at look asking him to back off. He didn't want her to find out like this, he owed her that much at least.

"What do you mean by that" his mom's tone was snappish now, she really wasn't used to being spoken to by a teenager like that. "Blaine, what is he talking about?"

Blaine swallowed past the dryness in his throat.

So here it was, the time to tell her. Except he wasn't sure if he could. Those words held such power, the power to change everything and he didn't know if he had the courage to just blurt them out. He hadn't been thinking earlier, saying it then had almost been a relief but now that he'd had time to think about the consequences of that one act he wished he could take it all back. The examination just a short while ago had shown him just what he faced and he wasn't sure he was stong enough to go through with all of this. He couldn't even kid himself that the reason was that he wanted to protect his mom , no the awful truth was he was protecting himself. He was scared what her reaction would be and even worse once this ball was rolling he knew his father would be next and if he was scared of telling his mom then there wasn't a word to descibe how he felt about telling his dad.

He no longer had a choice though, too many people already knew, there was no going back now. This was just one more stop on the train ride to hell his life had become. If only he hadn't confessed earlier, he could just go on pretending like everything was okay, that he wasn't dead on the inside. He cursed his weakness. If he'd just stopped to think then he probably could have come up with something to persuade everyone that nothing had happened. But even he knew that was ridiculous, he just wished he could have kept strong just a little bit longer. Just until he wasn't so tired. His head was spinning and he felt dizzy again, the only thing keeping him from passing out was the warm hand clasped tightly in his.

"Blaine" it was Kurt's voice this time that broke into his thoughts. He looked up into those pale eyes and focused on them as he tried to control his racing heart.

"Do you want me to tell her?" Kurt asked and Blaine wasn't sure what his answer was. Because in some ways that would be perfect, if he didn't actually have to say those words again. He could even keep looking into Kurt's eyes so he wouldn't have to see the look of disgust that he would see in hers. But no, he couldn't do that to Kurt, this was his load to bear, he was already putting far too much on Kurt already.

"Tell me what? What's going on Blaine?" he never realised before that his mother's voice was so shrill, the sound of it went straight through him.

"Those men, they didn't just hurt me" Kurt began taking his silence as agreement.

"Well I can see that" she sounded annoyed, as though Kurt was telling her something that she was well aware of. Blaine knew how much she hated it when people thought she was stupid.

"Do you? Do you see?" Kurt's voice was getting high now and he actually let go of Blaine's hand to gesture at Blaine.

"Of course I do" now her tone was defensive. "I'm not blind".

"Really?" Kurt was practically screeching now, his beautiful face screwed up in anger.

"I really don't appreciate the way you're talking to me young man. I don't know who you think you are, but you have no ri..."

"I'm the boy who loves your son, and right now I'm not sure you know what that means".

"HOW DARE YOU" Blaine had never heard his mom shout before, she was usually the kind to use guilt and burst into tears in the middle of an arguement. But yet another thing that she'd always hated, was having her parenting called into question, he wondered how much of that came from having a guilty conscience.

"I DARE ALLRIGHT" Kurt was suprisingly dry eyed, his anger to the point where he was beyond upset. Whilst a part of Blaine was secretly pleased to hear his boyfriend standing up for him like that he also knew a lot of the anger was misplaced. His mother might not be the most loving person in the world but she wasn't a monster. Kurt was attacking her because she was the only person that had hurt Blaine recently that he could attack.

"DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW HURT BLAINE IS?" Kurt's voice was so loud that Blaine was suprised no-one had come in to see what the noise was about.

"Kurt, don't" Blaine tried to get his attention but Kurt was completely focused on the woman in the doorway now.

"Do you want to know what those bastards did to him?" Kurt's voice dropped to almost a whisper and was all the more terrifying for it. Blaine found himself trembling in the face of Kurt's rage.

"Kurt" that was Finn's voice and Blaine had forgotten that the other boy was even in the room until he spoke the warning.

But Kurt was on a roll now, so caught up in indignant anger that he couldn't hear anyone else.

"Those sick bastards raped him, okay. There, are you happy now?" Blaine felt the words rip into him. He felt like his skin had been torn away and he was sat there raw and bleeding.

"What?" the word came out as a strangled whisper. "Why would you say such filth? Blaine?"

Blaine was afraid to look at her, he didn't want to face her but he turned his head anyway and met her eyes. Eyes the same color as his blown wide with shock.

"Blaine that isn't true. Is it? Tell me that's not true?"

Blaine didn't say a word, but that obviously told her everything she needed to know. She looked at him in horror before speaking again. "I have to...I can't..." she turned and ran from the room.

Kurt was heaving great sobs now and Finn looked like he'd been punched in the stomach but Blaine just stared at the doorway. It wasn't like he'd been expecting her to rush over to him and take him in her arms, no matter how much he wanted her too, but he hadn't expected her to just abandon him like that.

"Oh god Blaine, I'm so sorry" Kurt was sobbing out now. Blaine didn't know whether he was apologizing for blurting his secret out, for causing his mom to run out or maybe even for the fact that his mom was so selfish but he found he didn't really care. Because although what Kurt just did might have seemed a little insensitive at least it showed he cared.

"It's okay" he reassured his distraught boyfriend, except nothing really was. But he couldn't stay angry at Kurt, what he'd just done confirmed what Blaine had known all along. That Kurt was the only person in his life that truly cared for him as much as he did in return.

He briefly considered going after his mom but he just didn't have the energy for it. He'd had enough drama and heartache today to last him a lifetime. She knew where he was and once she'd calmed down she could come back, or not, he just couldn't find it within himself to care either way.

"I'm so sorry Blaine" Kurt repeated, except this time Blaine knew that Kurt was talking about more than what had just happened in this room.

"I know" Blaine said.

He looked at Kurt again and reached a hand up to wipe the tears from his cheek. Kurt stopped his hand before bringing it to his lips and kissing it gently. Blaine could see the hesitation in Kurt's eyes as he did it, his eyes searching Blaine's to make sure this was okay. Blaine gave him a small smile to let him know that it was and didn't even flinch as Kurt's warm lips pressed against the back of his hand. Such a light, gentle touch, but all the sweeter for it.

Neither boy noticed Finn slip quietly from the room in search of his parents.

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><p>AN: Want to know a little secret?

Blaine was supposed to tell his mom but when I started writing it Kurt just wouldn't shut up, I guess he really doesn't like people messing with his man.

I know Blaine seems all over the place at the minute but that is intentional, I swear.


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: Okay I know I say this a lot but this one is really rubbish, I just needed to do a few things to set it up for the next few chapters. I don't like how this came out but it's the best I can do. I think I'm just too focused on the stuff that I know is coming, but this was neccessary. Sorry it's late, I will post the next chapter as soon as it is done to make up for it, so no two day wait hopefully.

Don't own 'em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty One<p>

Carole waited until he ended the call before raising her eyebrows and asking "Well?"

"He wasn't too happy about it but I managed to talk him into waiting for us all to come in tomorrow".

"Have they made any arrests yet?" Carole asked.

"No they're waiting for the boys to make a formal ID before they do anything" Burt told her. It made sense she supposed but just thinking about those men being able to wander about freely whilst they all suffered made her skin crawl.

"We'd better get back, visiting hours are almost over".

"Yeah" Burt agreed standing and grabbing both their empty cups to throw in the trash can. They left the canteen and headed back to where the boys were waiting for them.

As they walked the length of the corridor Carole had to quickly step aside as a small woman with dark hair rushed past them. She was clearly distraught and Carole found herself wondering what awful news the poor woman must have just recieved.

Before they could get to the door of Kurt's room it opened and Finn stepped out into the corridor. He saw them coming and Carole noted the look of relief that crossed his features.

"Oh thank god, I thought I was going to have to come looking for you two" he said walking up to them.

"Why what's happened, is everyone okay?" Burt went to brush past Finn to get to the room where the boys were.

"Yes, well no, um kind of" Finn said awkwardly.

"Well which is it honey?" Carole used her calming voice.

"Blaine's mom showed up" Finn blurted out.

"Is she still in there?" Burt asked nodding at the door.

"No, umm Kurt kind of ..."

"What did Kurt do?" Burt's voice was slightly menacing now causing Finn to gulp nervously.

"He told Blaine's mom what happened".

"Oh" Burt seemed to calm down a little at the news. "Well I guess she had to find out at some point."

"Yeah but Kurt he um..."

"Just say it Finn" even Carole was getting a little annoyed at how much Finn was dragging it out.

"Well he yelled it at her after bascically calling her a bad mom".

"He did what" Burt practically roared.

"In his defence she was a bit of a bitch" Finn suprised Carole by saying.

Carole knew she should be angry at Kurt, because that really wasn't the way to go about it, but to be honest she could see why Kurt might have lost his temper. From what she knew so far Blaine's mom hadn't exactly been very caring and whilst she didn't know what had been said in that room she knew how fiercley protective Kurt could be about the people he loved.

"Wait, Mrs Anderson, what did she look like?" Carole asked.

"Kind of short, dark hair" Finn frowned at her, clearly confused as to why that mattered.

"I think that was the woman who just ran past us" Carole turned to Burt and said.

"Yeah, she kind of ran out of there pretty fast" Finn confirmed. Carole felt a stab of pity for the woman, finding out something so awful like that must have been very upsetting. Pity was replaced with anger almost immediatly though when she thought about how much that must have upset Blaine. God knows what he was thinking watching his mom just run away like that instead of being there for him. She made a decision.

"Burt why don't you go check on the boys, I'd better go find Mrs Anderson" Burt must have read something in her tone.

"Try to stay calm Carole, the last thing Blaine needs is us upsetting his family".

"I know" Carole replied. "Don't worry I won't say anything out of place" she silently added however much I might want to.

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><p>Burt could tell Carole was seething but he wisely chose to wait until she was ready to talk about it. He didn't have to wait long as he'd barely pulled out of the hsopital car park before she let rip.<p>

"That woman is fucking unbelievable" Burt concentrated on the road and let his wife release some of her tension. He heard Finn shift uncomfortably in the back seat but was glad when the boy had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

When Carole had stormed up to the room earlier he'd guessed that things hadn't gone well, but for Blaine's sake Carole had managed to hide it quite well.

"Your mom is waiting downstairs for you Blaine" Carole hadn't given away how she was feeing with her words but Burt could see the tension in her jaw. "Visiting hours are almost over and your mother thinks it would be best if you went home with her tonight" Carole clearly didn't agree.

Blaine didn't even blink at the news, but he did give a small sigh.

"Is that okay with you Blaine?" Burt asked.

"Of course, she's my mom". Blaine's response was automatic.

"Well she's agreed to meet us here in the morning so we can go to the police station together" Carole continued and this finally got a reaction from Blaine as he visibly paled at the news.

Mrs Anderson had met them at the entrance to the hospital and with a polite good bye she had led Blaine away to where her own car was parked, having made the decision to leave Blaine's there til the morning.

Carole had watched them go with a heavy heart.

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><p>"You know I actually felt sorry for her when I first went looking for her" Carole started to explain herself. "I mean what an awful way to find out about something like this, but you know what?" she didn't wait for any kind of response. "When I found her all she could talk about was how awful this was for her, and what was she going to tell her husband. She never once asked anything about Blaine".<p>

Burt sighed at the news, he'd really hoped that when Blaine's parents finally showed up they would be able to help him through all of this. This wasn't a good start.

"I told her about the exam and the blood tests and everything and she looked like she was one step away from putting her fingers in her ears and singing. I can't believe we just let him go home with her".

"She's his mother" Burt finally felt the need to speak. "And no matter what we may think of her she's not a monster. Maybe some time alone with Blaine will give her chance to see how much he's hurting".

Carole snorted at that.

"Well I hope so. Blaine needs all the support he can get and I have a feeling that's not something Natalie Anderson is good at".

"Look no matter what happens form here on in we just need to make sure Blaine knows we're here for him. Hopefully once his mom gets over the shock of what happened she will be too, let's not judge her too harshly yet".

But even as Burt said this he couldn't help remembering watching Blaine and his mom walk away from them earlier. You could have driven a bus through the distance between them. It seemed like the only person tonight who hadn't wanted to hug Blaine was his own mom.

Carole sighed again next to him and he risked a glance over in her direction. The tears glistening in her eyes had caused his own to start to prickle.

"Tomorrow's going to be hell" Carole spoke again, more quietly this time.

"I know" Burt said and took her hand in his.

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><p>AN: yeah so don't worry about reviewing I know there's not much to say about this one, I promise lots of things are going to happen in the next few chapters though.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: So as promised, next chapter.

Don't own em

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><p>Chapter Twenty Two<p>

Kurt wasn't very impressed. He knew it made sense not to wear his usual outfit of skin tight jeans with his injured leg, but still sweat pants in public, he never thought he'd see the day. His attempt to distract himself with silly fashion problems didn't work though as he found himself glancing at his watch again.

"Shouldn't they be here by now?" he asked his father who was stood at the end of the bed with Carole. At least now Kurt was sat on top of it instead of laying under the covers. Now that freedom was in sight he was itching to go, even though he knew the day held a lot of terrible things ahead. He'd already been discharged and they were now waiting for Blaine and his mom to show up so they could head to the police station.

"Yeah I would have thought so" Burt reached up to scratch at his head.

"Do you think everythings okay?" Kurt asked as a million possible, horrible, scenarios ran through his head.

"I'm sure they'll be here in a minute honey" Carole tried to settle his nerves but he couldn't help noticing that she kept glancing at the door. "You don't mind Finn not being here do you?"

"No, no it's fine" Kurt was quick to reassure her. Finn had come with their parents to the hospital before heading off and he knew that he wanted to be there, but had been talked out of it by Burt and Carole. There was no point them all going and apparently Mr Schue had called a New Directions meeting. In light of the fact that school was out for summer and they had no performances planned Kurt was in no doubt that it was to discuss what had happened to Blaine and himself. Miss Pillsbury would probably be there to help them talk about everything. Kurt had asked Finn not to tell the others what had truly happened to Blaine, as it was nobody's story to tell but his. Finn had agreed but something about the way he avoided meeting his eye when he made the promise had Kurt wondering if maybe it was too late for that.

Kurt glanced at his watch again but just as he was about to say something else the door opened and Mrs Anderson walked in with Blaine trailing behind her. Kurt only gave the woman a cursory glance, noting that she looked like she'd put a lot of effort into looking perfectly coiffed, something he normally would have respected. Now however he couldn't help thinking that she had probably spent a lot of time getting ready and very little on talking to her son. Blaine was a different story. He was wearing clean clothes and had clearly had a shower but otherwise he looked no better than he had yesterday. His skin almost had a yellowish tinge to it now and the bruises covering his face had really developed into a riot of colors. The one eye that wasn't still swollen shut was blood shot. He didn't look like he'd had any sleep the night before and Kurt had no doubt that that was the case. His own sleep had been broken by nightmares of what had happened and what was to come, he could only imagine what Blaine's would have been like.

"Mrs Anderson, Blaine" Burt greeted them.

"Natalie, please" Blaine's mom responded with a small smile.

"We were starting to think you were'nt coming" Burt looked pointedly at his own watch.

"Well yes, I'm sorry about that. We had to go get Blaine's test results" Kurt's heart stilled in his chest and he shot a look at Blaine to see if he could tell the answer just by looking at him. He couldn't. in fact the blank look that Blaine was sporting was starting to disturb Kurt a little bit. It was good that Blaine was no longer falling apart but this calm was eerie and it was starting to feel like the eye of the storm to him. He dreaded to think what would happen when the storm came back, he had a feeling it would be even more devastating than last time.

"And?" Carole prompted.

"They were negative thank goodness" everyone seemed to breath out at the same time.

"Oh thank god" Carole said and despite the affronted look that Natalie gave her she went over and gave Blaine a hug. Kurt watched as Blaine only slightly stiffened up as Carole put her arms around him and then he gave in slightly and rested his head on her shoulder for a minute before pulling away again.

"Is that it then, no more tests?" Burt asked.

"Oh they mentioned something about retesting in a few months time just in case, but I'm sure it will all be fine" Natalie dismissed the question with a wave of her perfeclty manicured hand. Kurt hoped she was right but he couldn't help thinking it was a rather niave way of dealing with something so huge.

"Well let's hope so" Carole gave Blaine's arm a gentle squeeze. "Is Blaine's father going to make it back in time to join us at the police station".

Natalie hesitated before answering "No I haven't told him yet".

"What, why?" Kurt couldn't keep quiet any longer and when Blaine's mom turned her frosty glare on him he knew she still hadn't forgiven him for his outburst yesterday. Which was fine with him as he hadn't forgiven her for her actions either.

"He has a very important meeting today, one that could change the future of the company he works for, he would never forgive me if I put that in jeopardy".

Kurt glanced around the room and from the look on Burt and Carole's faces they we're just as suprised by her response as him. In fact the only person who didn't seem bothered was Blaine, who just stood there, silently.

Burt started to say something but Carole shot him a look and he closed his mouth with an almost audible click.

"Well I guess there's no point putting this is off anymore" Carole said "Are you boys ready?"

Kurt didn't know how to answer that because how could you ever be ready for any of this, but he wanted to get the ball rolling and the sooner those men were behind bars the better.

"As I'll ever be" he spoke up and Blaine once again just nodded. Kurt was really starting to worry about Blaine's silence, he was worried that he was withdrawing completely.

"Is Blaine taking his own car?" he asked as an idea came to him.

"Yes I think so" Natalie answered for him and Kurt was suddenly concious of how much like a child they were treating him, talking about him as though he wasn't there.

"Is it okay if I go with you?" Kurt made sure he directed the question directly to his boyfriend this time. He watched Blaine to see if he reacted and was pleased to see a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He didn't know what he was going to say to him but he just wanted to be alone with him, even just for a short while.

"I'm not sure if that's a very good idea" Natalie started to protest.

"Mom please" Blaine finally spoke and Kurt was suprised to hear that his voice sounded even more strained and weak than yesterday.

Natalie looked a little suprised, as though she wasn't used to hearing her son ask for anything.

"I don't see what harm it can do" Carole backed the boys up and Natalie caved, something Kurt got the feeling she was used to from living with such an overbearing man as her husband.

"Oh okay, fine" she still made sure they knew she wasn't exactly happy about the idea.

So after a rather awkward journey to where all their cars were parked Kurt found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Blaine's car following behind both sets of parent's cars. The thing was that now that he was alone with Blaine he didn't have a clue what to say to him. A million different things came to mind, all of which he dismissed as insensitive or stupid.

Unbelievably it was Blaine that broke the silence.

"Shall we just keep going?" the words were spoken so quietly that Kurt almost didn't hear them.

"I'm sorry what?"

"Can we just keep going" Blaine never once took his eyes of the road.

"I don't understand" Kurt admitted.

"On this road, instead of taking the next turn off we could just keep going, we'd be miles away before they even realised" Blaine explained.

"Oh Blaine" Kurt didn't mean for his voice to come out so pitying but he knew Blaine picked up on it when his hands tightened on the steering wheel. "You know we can't do that right? Where exactly would we go?"

"I don't know...I just don't want to be here anymore" Blaine just wouldn't stop breaking Kurt's heart with the things he said.

"I promise Blaine, when this is all over we'll go away somewhere together for a while, just us" It was all Kurt could offer. When Blaine didn't respond Kurt reached over and took one of his hands in his. Looking up at his boyfriends face he saw the silent tears tracing their way down his face.

"I don't think this is ever going to be over" Blaine's voice was steady despite his tears.

"I know it seems like that now, but it will be one day. I know nothings going to be the same as it was before but it will get better. We just have to go through this before we can get to the other side."

"What if I can't though" Blaine's voice cracked on those words and Kurt grasped his hand a little tighter. He wanted to tell Blaine to stop the car so that he could hold him properly but he was scared that if they stopped he would never be able to convice Blaine to get back on this road again.

"You can Blaine, we'll do it together".

Ahead of them the two cars pulled off the highway at the next exit and Kurt tensed as he felt their car speed up rather than slow down. He didn't say anything though, knowing this was something Blaine had to decide for himself. He couldn't help a small sigh of relief though as Blaine slowed the car and took the exit too, following their parents cars into downtown Lima.

* * *

><p>AN: so hopefully that one was a bit better, I found it a lot easier to write that's for sure.

Oh and I'm going to settle the HIV thing once and for all. Whilst it might potentially be something that Blaine worries about until he finds out for sure, he hasn't got it and he's not going to develop it later. I really don't want people to worry that this is going to be a big part of the story because that was never my intention, but I didn't want to just ignore it, as it is something that would come up in this sort of situation.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N:The site is playing up again and messing up alerts and reviews and things. I got some on the last one but there not showing on the page where I normally answer them so thankyou everyone who reviewed, if they show up later on I'll reply properley then.

Oh yeah I meant to say I have tumblr, it's just me reblogging stuff as I'm not that computer savvy and this story but if anyone wants to say hi on there feel free.

http:/ifonlyrhona tumblr com/

just change the two spaces to dots

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Three<p>

Blaine sat and watched whilst the whole world seemed to move around him, as decisions that affected him were made without anyone thinking to ask him.

He'd seen Carole hand a paper bag off to a police officer and he'd had to fight the urge to grab it. He knew what was in that bag, it was his clothes from that night. He wished with all his heart that he'd had a chance to burn them, maybe then none of this would be happening. Maybe then he wouldn't have to be sat here like some pathetic child whilst people kept shooting him looks that alternated between pity and disgust.

Kurt had been taken to a room with his parents to give his version of events now that he remembered, which meant that Blaine had been left alone with his mother again. He needn't have worried though as it was a repeat performance of last night. She made some small talk but never once mentioned what had happened, never even asked him if he was okay.

Whilst part of him was relieved to be left alone, he couldn't deny the fact that he was deeply hurt aswell. His mother had never been a particulary warm woman, something that had become even more apparent after he had come out. In the face of his father's anger she had withdrawn even further, she'd never liked upsetting her husband. She'd never once stood up to him on her son's behalf. Despite all that though Blaine had always known that she loved him, just that she wasn't particulary good at showing it. However the moment she ran out of Kurt's hospital room yesterday he'd begun to doubt it. Surely she should have asked him how he was doing by now, shown some concern. Even Carole, a woman he barely knew, had hugged him several times and yet his own mother seemed afraid to touch him. Or maybe it wasn't fear, maybe she really was disgusted with him like he'd always feared.

He started to pick at one of the slightly scabbed over cuts on his hand, causing it to bleed again. The slight sting of pain gave him something to focus on, so that he didn't have to deal with everything else that was going on in his head. He watched the blood well up and quickly dabbed a finger on it before someone noticed.

"Mrs Anderson" his attention was drawn to a polce woman who was stood looking at them both.

"Yes" his mom actually sounded kind of nervous.

"We wondered if whilst you were waiting Blaine could take a look through the mug shots for us".

"Yes, yes of course" his mom answered for him yet again. They followed the woman into a side room where she handed him a book with what seemed like hundreds of mug shots in. He sat down in a chair and began to leaf through it. After a few minutes the faces seemed to blur into one and he was convinced that he wouldn't be able to recognise any of the men anyway as it all got confused in his head.

He was wrong.

As he flipped over the next page it was like one of the photos lept out at him. He held his breath as familiar eyes stared out at him from the page. It was the older guy with the bald head and Blaine knew then that there was no chance he would ever forget that face, it was seared into his mind, haunted his dreams, night and day.

He lifted a shaking finger and let it rest on the photo but when he went to speak, the words wouldn't come.

"Is that him?" the poilice woman gently prodded and he managed a small nod. "Okay that's good Blaine, thankyou. Do you think you could keep looking the other suspect is in there as well."

Blaine gave another small nod and was actually relieved to be able to turn the page so that those eyes weren't burning into his soul anymore. He flicked through a few more pages before another familiar face popped out at him. Staring up at him was the face of the man who had slammed Kurt into the dumpster, he hated this one most of all.

"Him" he said shocked at the venom he heard in his own voice.

"That's great Blaine those are the two we suspected already" she went to take the book from him and he put a hand out to stop her.

"What about the other one, isn't he in there aswell?"

"No we don't think so, we haven't been able to ID him yet".

Blaine felt like he'd been punched again, he thought doing all this would mean all of those men would be locked up. But if they couldn't even find the third one what was the point. Of course it would have to be the tall one that they couldn't find because he was the one who really dominated Blaine's nightmares.

"But don't worry, I'm sure that when we arrest the other two they'll be able to tell us about the third man. You've done really well Blaine. Do you and your mom want to go back outside, the detectives will come fetch you when they're done with Kurt".

"I'm just going to the rest room" Blaine said to his mom before they sat back down in the hard plastic chairs that lined the corridor.

She just nodded, once again not meeting his eye. Blaine left her without a backward glance.

He pushed the door to the rest room open, pleased to see he was the only one in there. He walked over to the bank of sinks and turned the cold tap on. He waited until his hands were full of water and then lent over the sink and splashed the water up into his face. The cold water stung a little but he didn't mind that. Only once he'd done it a couple more times did he brave looking in the mirror. It was something he had been avoiding doing too much, seeing the damage there only made him think about the damage that you couldn't see so easily and that's where the real pain lay. He gave one small sob before he was able to control himself again. He ran the tap again but this time let the water run red hot, he put plenty of soap on his hands and started to rub his hands together under the scalding water. His hands started to turn red from the heat but he still got more soap and continued to rub them together under the tap, they weren't clean yet, he was sure of that.

He quickly turned the tap off when the door behind him swung open. He looked in the mirror to see Burt standing there. His eyes looked red rimmed as though he'd been crying and his voice sounded a little hoarse when he spoke.

"Your mom said you were in here, they're ready for you now".

"Is Kurt okay?" Blaine asked, because if Burt was upset there was no doubt in his mind that his son was probably also upset.

"No not really" Blaine appreciated that Burt was being honest with him." Carole's took him outside for some air".

Blaine grabbed a towel to dry his hands, ignoring the tingling in them.

"Would you... come in with me?" Blaine couldn't look at him as he asked the question, didn't want to see the other man's disappointment at his show of weakness.

"Your mom will be there" Burt reminded him.

"I know" Blaine said and knew he didn't need to explain why that didn't make any difference to him.

Burt didn't answer straight away and Blaine wished he'd never asked. What right did he have to ask that of Burt, who was he to make him sit through what was about to happen. He wasn't even entirely sure why he wanted him in the room anyway, hearing everything that he was going to say. The fact was he needed Burt's strength. he needed to know there was someone in the room who was on his side, that he could rely on. He didn't know the two detectives at all and he knew his mother too well to expect too much from her.

"Of course I'll be there for you" Burt said and Blaine released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Okay" Blaine said throwing the towel in the bin "let's go get this over with". The words sounded brave and he was glad to know he hadn't completely lost his ability to put on a brave face. He was going to need it.

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><p>AN: So still liking it? let me know, but don't feel obliged I don't like making anyone feel like they have to review :)


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: So this is the beginning of Blaine's version. Major warnings ahead for the next couple of chapters. I debated with myself for ages about how to handle this part of the story but I think to shy away from it would be a disservice. It's going to get pretty graphic but not as bad as it could be I think. Anyone who doesn't want to read the details avoid the middle bit between page breaks.

Don't own 'em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Four<p>

Blaine was determined that he wasn't going to break down as he told his story. He was just going to give them the facts and not dwell too much on what he was saying. He should have known that would be impossible, that with the words would come the memories.

He looked around the room at the people in there with him. The two detectives were basically strangers and he didn't care one way or the other that they were there, it was just a job for them. But the two people on either side of him mattered a great deal. He almost considered asking one or both of them to leave, but he knew that he couldn't do that now, it was too late. He had to wonder why his mom was even there but looking at her trembling hands clasped together on the table in front of her he realised that maybe she wasn't as disconnected from the whole thing as he thought.

"So Blaine whenever you're ready" one of the detectives said pressing record on the device that sat next to him.

Blaine glanced to his left where Burt was sitting and the older man met his eye giving him a small smile of encouragement. He looked back down at his own scratched and bruised hands resting on the table in front of him, took a deep breath and began.

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><p>Blaine walked out of the rest room to see Kurt staring dreamily up at some poster on the wall. An idea came to him and he gave into the urge to sneak up behind his boyfriend and put his arms around his waist.<p>

The little squeel of suprise Kurt made was absolutley adorable and Blaine laughed as he let go and the other boy spun around to face him.

"Sorry, I couldn't resist" he said smiling at the other boy's shocked face.

"Well just for that you can buy the coffee" Kurt smiled back at him and Blaine was pleased to see he hadn't annoyed him.

"Deal" Blaine nodded and the two of them made their way towards the door that would take them outside.

They were walking very close side by side and Blaine hesitated for a moment before reaching down and taking hold of Kurt's hand. Kurt looked at him, clearly a little suprised at the public display of affection. Although it was only a small gesture, for the two of them being who they were in this town, it felt like a huge deal. Blaine was worried that he'd made a mistake until Kurt smiled shyly at him and gave his hand a squeeze. He responded in kind and was rewarded with one of Kurt's beaming smiles, he loved that smile.

They made there way out into the night and even though it was the beginning of summer Blaine was glad he was wearing his jacket as there was a chill in the air. It only made him more grateful for the warm hand clasped tightly in his.

"Aahh look at the two little boys, how sweet. Holding hands and everything".

Blaine felt Kurt start to pull his hand away at the harsh voice but Blaine decided that he was going to let some stupid ignorant people ruin his night. He gave Kurt's hand another squeeze and smiled at him in what he hoped was a reassuring way. He couldn't help feeling a little bit nervous despite outward appearances.

"Just ignore them" he practically whispered to his boyfriend, trying to not let the men hear him. They carried on walking.

"Hey my friend was talking to you" a different voice this time, called out behind them.

"Well we're not listening" Blaine was glad when his voice came out sounding strong, he had been conviced it was going to waver and show how nervous he really was.

They were just passing the end of the alley when suddenly they were being pushed and jostled off the sidewalk and out of sight. Blaine tried to hold onto Kurt but his hand was torn form his grasp as one of them pushed Kurt so forcefully that he tripped and fell.

Kurt's cry of pain sent a stab of fear through his chest.

"Kurt" he called out but anything else he wanted to say was cut off when he found himself also being pushed to the ground beside his clearly hurt boyfriend.

"Aren't you two just the cutest things ever" Blaine didn't even see who spoke those words as his attention was completely focused on Kurt.

Blaine started to crawl closer to Kurt to see how he was when one of the men pushed him back to the ground with his foot. He tried not to cry out as various things dig into his back causing him to twist about in discomfort. The fat man above him laughed as he pressed down even harder on Blane's chest.

"Ooohh looks like we've got a feisty one here" the fat one said laughing at his friends.

"Dibs on him then, I like it when they put up a bit of a fight" the youngest looking of the three said and the words caused a feeling of dread to surface in Blaine. He looked over at Kurt and saw the terror he felt reflected in his pale blue eyes.

Kurt broke eye contact and seemed to be looking for something, Blaine watched as Kurt slowly started to stretch his hands out towards a broken bottle that lay on the ground just out of reach. Blaine realised he needed to do something to distract the men's attention but he was too late as the man holding him down suddenly released him and brought his foot down hard on Kurt's hand.

Blaine called out to Kurt even as the other boy screamed in pain. Without thinking Blaine leapt to his feet ready to rush the man who still had his foot on Kurt's hand. White hot rage was flowing through him and he was only focused on one thing. That's why when an arm came from behind him and wrapped around his throat choking him he didn't have chance to react. He didn't even have a chance to put his arm up in defence as the wall loomed wide in his vision. He felt his head connect with the harsh surface. Everything felt like he was underwater and he was only vaguely aware that someone was pinning him to the wall by the back of the neck as they ground into him. He could feel hands roaming his body but in his confused state didn't know what they were doing. couldn't figure out what was happening.

Without warning he was spun around so that his back was now to the wall, his eyes quickly sought out Kurt's but the pain in his head made it hard to focus.

"Oh dear, you've hurt your head" the man holding him to the wall said and then Blaine could feel him pressing against the cut on his head with his finger. His stoamach churned as he then licked the blood of his finger. "Shame, we wouldn't want to ruin that pretty face of yours".

Blaine had to fight back the urge to gag as coarse dry lips pressed roughly against his. He was so shocked he didn't even try to push him away as everything became clear to him. He'd misread what was happening before but now he knew exactly what these men wanted and he'd never been more scared in his life.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kurt lurch to his feet, he put everything he could into telling the other boy to run, to save himself. He should have known Kurt wouldn't listen, he was never one for being told what to do. Blaine wasn't even aware of the man still kissing him as he watched wide eyed as Kurt ran towards them. But the mouth on his stopped him from being able to shout a warning to his boyfriend as he saw one of the other men take notice.

He watched in horror as the slight boy was grabbed and thrown head first against a dumpster. The clang of Kurt's head hitting the metal resounded in the alleyway and sent a bolt of lightening through Blaine. He pushed away from the man roughly and threw himself on the ground beside the too still figure of his boyfriend.

"Oh no,no..no Kurt" he started to pick him up, to hug him to him. Was he breathing, oh please god let him be breathing. He didn't get a chance to check though before a foot pushed him from behind sending him sprawling head first onto the ground.

"What the hell did you do that for Steve" the bald one was yelling at the chubby man who had just slammed Kurt into the dumpster.

"So you just wanted me to let him run at you John" the word John was said with emphasis as he made sure he wasn't the only one who's name had been revealed.

"Shut up both of you" the taller man snarled.

Blaine started to climb to his feet, wanting to check on Kurt again.

"Oh no you don't" John said grabbing him and pushing him back up against the wall "We have some unfinished business to attend to" the leering look in his eyes made Blaine feel sick. The man started to pull his jacket off, his hands grabbing and pawing at him the whole time. Blaine tried to fight back and the man punched him in the mouth splitting his lip. His jacket was pulled from his arms and thrown to the ground.

"If you wanna play rough, pretty boy, I'm up for that" he started to kiss him again and Blaine couldn't help pushing him away man grabbed his face roughly pulling it towards his own.

"Okay fine, you don't want to kiss lets just get on with this, get down on your knees boy" Blaine just glared at him, hands fisted at his side.

"If you don't want your pretty boyfriend to die you'll do as you're fucking told" Blaine looked over at where Kurt lay, the man who had pushed him into the dumpster stood grinning back at him.

Blaine slowly sank to his knees amongst the broken glass and dirt as the man leered down at him and unzipped his jeans.

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><p>Blaine was broken from his story by the loud sound of sobs. He looked over at his mom who was staring at him in horror, her face a mess, as tears ran down her face ruining her mascara.<p>

"Oh god Blaine I'm so sorry, I need to .. I can't..." Blaine watched as once again his mom ran from the room and away from him.

One of the detectives cleared their throat. "Maybe we should all take a break for a minute" he said and Blaine almost said no, because now that he was telling his story, he didn't want to have to stop, he wanted it over and done with.

"I'll go get some coffees" the man said and got up leaving Blaine with the other man and Burt.

"It's okay Blaine" Burt said putting his hand over Blaine's. "I'm not going anywhere".

Blaine hadn't realised he was crying until he felt a tear drip of his chin but he didn't want to let go of Burt's hand so he just let them fall.

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><p>AN: So I was going to have Blaine tell everything in this chapter but his mom needs a wake up call, I think Carole is going to tell her a few home truths. So the rest will be in the next chapter.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: So Carole get's a say, I think she's going to speak for a few of us.

Don't own 'em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Five<p>

Carole sat on the bench beside Kurt, her arm loosely around his shoulder. He wasn't really crying anymore, just taking slow deep breaths like she'd suggested.

"I feel stupid for reacting like that" Kurt said sniffing loudly and wiping his arm across his nose. Carole knew he must be upset to not even ask for a tissue.

"You shouldn't" she reassured him.

"I just...I didn't think it would upset me so much. Having to talk about it...you know".

"Of course".

"But I mean, what happened to me, it's nowhere near as bad as what happened to Blaine...I shouldn't..."

"Hey, don't think like that" Carole had to make Kurt understand. "What happened to Blaine is awful, just awful, but that doesn't mean what you went through is any less traumatic, you could have died Kurt". Way to go Carole she thought to herself, remind him of that part.

"I know, it's just I feel guilty" Kurt admitted looking at her with those breathtaking pale eyes of his.

"Oh Kurt honey, that's the last thing Blaine would want, you know that right?" Kurt nodded his head a little reluctantly. "Like I said, you boys have both been through a horrific experience and you're both going to need a lot of time and help to get through it. But it's okay to cry Kurt, it's good to let it out. You can't keep all these feelings bottled up inside or they'll eat you alive".

"That's what Blaine's doing isn't it?" Carole nodded sadly.

"Yeah it looks like it, I think he's trying so hard not to break down that when he does it's going to be even worse". Carole wasn't sure if she should be sharing these thoughts with Kurt, but they all needed to be more open about how they were feeling, it was the only way any of them were going to get through this.

"I wish I could find a way to help him" Kurt sounded angry and Carole could see the tension in his jaw.

"You are helping him Kurt, I can see how different he is with you. We just need to give him time and be ready to help when he needs it. I talked to your father earlier and we think it would be good for you to see someone, a therapist, and hopefully we can persuade Blaine's parents to do the same for him".

Kurt made a scoffing noise.

"I can't see his parents doing anything that isn't their idea".

Reluctantly Carole had to agree, she had kept her own feelings about the Andersons from Kurt, not wanting to fuel his fire on the subject, but so far they weren't coming across very well at all. Carole couldn't believe how detached Natalie seemed from everything, she couldn't imagine how Blaine must feel about how is mom was acting towards him. She had a feeling that if Blaine was able to see a therapist he would have a hell of a lot to talk through.

Carole wasn't able to hide her sigh. "Well we'll just have to be very persuasive" she said gaining a small smile from Kurt.

"Can we go back inside?" Kurt asked her after a minute of silence." I want to be there when Blaine comes out of the room".

"I think that's a very good idea" Carole said standing and reaching down to help Kurt up. He struggled a little bit and she saw him wincing in pain as he put weight on his bad leg. "Let's get you inside and you can take some more of your painkillers".

Kurt opened his mouth as though he was going to object but Carole shook her head at him.

"No Kurt, you're going to take them, I'm not letting you get away with that one".

He looked startled and she got the feeling he wasn't used to not getting his own way, but then he smiled a little and she hoped it was because he liked the idea of being mothered for a change.

She led him back inside and after making sure he was settled and that he'd taken his medication she excused herself to go to the ladies room.

Once she was done she left the rest room quickly, not wanting to leave Kurt alone for too long. Heading down the corridor she was startled to see Natalie Anderson rushing the other way in what seemed like a replay from yesterday.

This time Carole wasn't willing to hold back, she stormed after the weeping woman and caught up with just as she left the building.

"What the hell are you doing?" even she was suprised at the venom in her voice. Natalie spun around, eyes wide with fear.

"Are you running out on him again?" Carole almost spat the words out.

"You don't understand" the weeping woman tried to say.

"You're damn right I don't understand" Carole had the other woman pretty much backed up against the wall now. " I don't understand how a mother can keep running away from her son when he needs her the most. Why don't you try explaining it to me".

"I can't sit in there and listen to those awful things" Natalie sounded so pathetic, but instead of feeling sympathy for her it just made Carole angrier.

"Oh how awful for you" Natalie winced at the sarcasm. "But you know what, however awful it is for you to hear it, Blaine fucking lived it". Carole wasn't normally one to swear like that but she also didn't lose her temper like this very often either. This woman grated on every single one of her nerves.

"Your son is in there doing probably one of the hardest things he'll ever have to do in his life and you're out here feeling sorry for yourself".

"I know, I know I'm sorry. It's just he's my baby you know, I don't know if I can listen to what those men did to him".

"Whether you want to hear it or not, it happened. There's no use burying your head in the sand now" Carole hissed at her. "How can you help Blaine get past this if you won't even acknowledge what happened? Do you know how long it took for him to tell us that this even happened?"

Natalie shook her head, her face anguished but Carole still refused to feel any sympathy for the woman.

"Too long". Carole took a breath then, trying to calm down for her own sake. "He acts very brave but I've seen how scared he is. He needs you, and you need to be stronger".

"I don't know if I can be" Natalie admitted as she hung her head in shame.

"Then fake it" Carole replied, "I've seen how good an act Blaine can put on, I'm guessing at least part of that he learned from you".

"But what if I just make things worse?" Natalie was looking to her for all the answers now and Carole just felt like strangling her. She'd never met someone so weak willed in her life.

"Worse than running out on him twice? How do you think that made him feel? He was so scared of telling people, of them rejecting him because of it and what you just did made it seem like that's exactly what you're doing".

Natalie raised her hand to her mouth in horror as realisation finally dawned.

"Oh god what have I done?" she wept.

Carole stepped back from her to give her space.

"Look I realise this is very upsetting for you, I get that. But you're his mom, he needs you".

"I'm not used to him needing me" the other woman admitted. "He's always been so self reliant, you know?"

Carole did know, she'd seen it for herself and looking at this weak, pathetic woman in front of her she finally felt like she understood Blaine a little. No wonder he was so good at looking after himself, he had to be.

"Do you love your son Natalie?" Carole asked the question softly and without malice.

"Of course I do" Natalie responded angrily and Carole was pleased to see the fire in her eyes that the question had ignited.

"Then go back in there and show him that".

Carole rumaged around in her bag and passed the other woman a tissue. Natalie took it and wiped the tears from her face.

"You're right, I'm being selfish" Carole could have whooped for joy in that moment.

"Yes you are" Carole wasn't going to pander to this woman, just to make her feel better. "But you can still fix this, go be with Blaine, help him through this".

Natalie gave one last sniff before straightening her shoulders and striding purposefully back into the police station. Carole watched her go. amazed at the transformation. Blaine really had learnt some of his tricks from this woman.

She couldn't decide whether she'd done the right thing or not. Maybe she should have just told her to go, that they didn't need her, that Blaine didn't need her. But she knew that no matter how strained their relationship was every boy needed his mother and Blaine was no exeption. Being rejected by her at this point would probably be more than he could handle. She hoped that Natalie could step up to the plate and offer Blaine at least some support and if Carole's worst fears were realised and Natalie caved then at least Blaine would know she cared enough to try and that had to count for something. Didn't it?

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><p>AN: Okay so Carole had a lot to say, so the rest of Blaine's story will be in the next one.

Just for the record this doesn't mean Natalie has totally redeemed herself but I just felt like Blaine needs her to care at least a little bit, I don't want to send him completely over the edge. She's still a very flawed character, ceratinly not someone I'd want as my mum.


	26. Chapter 26

A/N: Okay this is the one guys, major warnings ahead, it doesn't get much worse than this. Anyone who thinks they might get upset by this please don't read, I think you could probably read the rest of the story without knowing the full details of what happened in the alley. I really spent a lot of time questiong whether to do this chapter at all but I don't think that would be fair to anyone. As weird as this is going to sound I don't think it would be fair to Blaine either (I know he's not real but I hope you know what I mean).

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Six<p>

Blaine watched as his mom walked back in and sat down next to him. He was torn between thanking her and telling her to go away.

"I'm sorry Blaine" was all she said but it was enough for now.

She looked right at him as she took one of his hands in hers and clasped it tightly. He kept her gaze and she gave him a small smile of encouragement. Aware that everyone was waiting on him he took yet another deep breath and started his story where he'd left off.

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><p>It was disgusting, that's all Blaine could think of. He tried not to think about what he was doing, tried not to taste, or smell or feel but it was impossible and he couldn't keep from gagging.<p>

"You know for a little homo you suck at this" the man above him snarled and the other two men laughed at his little joke. He grabbed the back of Blaine's head and forced himself further into Blaine's mouth. He could feel it hitting the back of his throat and suddenly he couldn't breath. He grabbed wildly at the man's thighs trying to push him away, but it had no effect and just when black spots started to appear in his vision the man pulled out leaving him gasping and crying for breath.

With no time to react John was ripping at his clothes whilst pushing him to the floor. He felt his t-shirt tear as John twisted it in his hands as he pushed him down to the ground.

John looked down at his nearly naked chest and leered, licking his lips as he ran his eyes up and down. He was on top of him in seconds and the much heavier man held him down easily as he ran his tongue over his body. When he started sucking and biting at him Blaine struggled even more, pushing at him in an effort to get him off, he was acting on pure instinct now, doing everything in his power to get away. John stopped for a minute to casually punch him in the face before going back to what he was doing. Blaine lay there in a daze as he felt the older man making a trail of lovebites across his chest. It was only when John reached down to undo his jeans that Blaine came to his senses enough to try to fight back again.

John leaned back with anger in his eyes and punched him in the ribs. Blaine gasped in agony.

"Steve" he heard John call over his shoulder to the man who stood over Kurt, watching him. "Pretty boy here isn't co-operating, let's see if we can fix that".

Steve grinned back at him and Blaine watched in horror as the fat man reached down to where Kurt's leg was bleeding. He grabbed hold of something that Blaine couldn't see and with malicious glee twisted it. Almost immediately Blaine saw the blood flow increase until the leg of Kurt's skinny jeans was dark with blood.

"No please" Blaine screamed out. "Don't hurt him" he was sobbing now.

"Then do as you're fucking told" John snarled at him and Blaine reluctantly nodded his head.

He didn't fight back as his jeans and boxers were pulled down past his knees, he didn't fight back as he was flipped over onto his stomach and he didn't fight back as he felt the other man push his way forcefully into him. This was all wrong, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. He'd wanted Kurt to be his first, to be the only one who touched him intimately, but now that would never happen. Even if they survived this, even if Kurt would want him after he'd been ruined like this, how would he ever be able to do anything without coming back to this moment.

He couldn't stop himself from screaming in pain as he felt like he was being ripped apart. Tears of agony ran down his face as the man grunted and groaned on top of him, fingers digging painfully into his hips. He felt him kissing the side of his neck as he muttered disgusting things into his ear.

"God yeah...so fucking tight...I bet you're loving this...dirty fucking slut..." Blaine tried to shut it out, tried to be anywhere but here, but no matter what he did he couldn't escape, just had to endure every stomach churning moment of it.

It felt like a lifetime but was probably only minutes before the man on top of him shuddered and groaned before slumping on top of him. Blaine could feel glass digging into his stomach and chest but it was nothing compared to the white hot pain at the centre of him.

John gave him one last, almost tender kiss, on his cheek before climbing off of him. With the weight gone Blaine knew he should probably try to get up, to run away but he felt frozen in place.

He heard John zipping himself up but didn't turn his head to look, instead he focused on a piece of glass that was glinting in the dim light of the alley. The way the light hit it and it refracted to flash bright against the wall was almost beatiful. Blaine found himself getting lost in the bright glare until he was snapped back to reality by the sensation of being flipped onto his back.

"I want to see your pretty eyes whilst I fuck you" the tall one of the group said as he ran a hand down Blaine's face.

"I got him all nice and wet for you" John sneered to him and Blaine knew he was talking about the blood he could feel trickling out of him.

Blaine just wanted it be over, wanted them gone so he could check on Kurt. He turned his head to look over at where his boyfriend lay, still unmoving. He caught the eye of the fat man who stood there and for a moment thought he could see a flash of sympathy before the older man quickly turned his head away.

His face was grabbed roughly and his head turned back so he was looking up into the blue eyes of his attacker.

"I said I wanted to see your pretty eyes" he snarled at him and then with no warning he pulled his knees apart and forced his way inside. Blaine thought it couldn't get any worse, that the pain was at it's peak, but he was wrong. John had just wanted to get himself off but this guy seemed intent on trying to hurt him as much as he possibly slammed into him rough and hard, over and over and Blaine couldn't stop himself from begging him to stop, hating that he'd been reduced to this.

"Please...no...don't" Blaine managed to gasp out between sobs and gasps of agony, but that just seemed to excite the man more as he grinned down at him.

"Oohh... yes baby" he gasped at him "beg some more".

Blaine stopped speaking as he realised the other man was getting off on it.

The large man ran his hand down the side of his face until it was wrapped around his neck and then he brought his other one up to join it. Blaine didn't even register them until he found himself struggling to draw breath. Panic kicked in as he brought his own hands up to try and prise the vice like grip away.

"I can't breath" he managed to wheeze out but the hands just tightened. He batted at them , scratching and clawing but it had no effect. He looked up into the other man's eyes trying to plead with him but what he saw there made him drop his hands in defeat.

This man was trying to kill him, he was enjoying it and nothing Blaine did was going to stop him. He felt light headed and the edges of his vision started to fade away. He stopped fighting, he stopped struggling and he welcomed oblivion, at least then this hell would be over.

"For fuck's sake Lance, are you trying to kill him" a voice sounded to his left and suddenly the hands were gone and everything else as well. He didn't know how long he was out but it couldn't have been long. He turned on his side gasping for breath as he tried to draw air into his burning lungs.

He could hear sounds of a brief struggle somewhere close by, but he just lay there and tried to breath around the fire in his throat.

"What the fuck are you doing Steve" the man who had just tried to kill him was shouting now.

"Do you really want to get done for murder if they find you" Steve hissed back.

He didn't hear what was said next but next thing he knew Lance was kneeling down next to him and hissing in his ear. "Tell a fucking soul and I'll hunt you down and kill you".

He stood back up and as if to emphasise his point gave Blaine two ot three kicks to the ribs. Blaine curled in on himself in agony.

"Come on let's just go, someone's going to show up if we don't leave now" Steve spoke again.

"Yeah okay" it was John that time. Their voices started to drift away down the alley but Blaine heard one of them call over his shoulder before they left.

"Thanks for the memories kid, see you around some time".

Blaine lay where he was for a while, too scared to move in case they came back. He sobbed silently to himself, trying to ignore the pains in his body. He could feel blood, sweat, dirt and other things his mind shied away from, starting to dry on his body. With shaking hands he reached down and pulled his underwear and jeans up until he was clothed again. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do his jeans up, his hands were shaking that badly and was glad they were the zipped kind as he knew buttons would have been beyond his ability. Once he'd done them up he crawled as quickly as he could to where Kurt lay.

He pulled the silent boy up onto his lap and cradled him, he was relieved to feel Kurt's breath against him. Kurt was alive . He sobbed with relief, knowing that if Kurt didn't make it out of this alley alive, then neither would he. He stared down at the face of the boy he loved almost relieved that he was unconcious, that he hadn't seen what just happened, or even worse, been a part of it. Just the thought of the sweet innocent boy in his arms being defiled like that made him cry all the harder.

He sat there for a long while lost in his thoughts before the chill in the air brought him to his senses. He needed to get help now or it might still be too late to save Kurt. As he reached for his jacket he knew it was already too late to save himself.

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><p>AN: I really don't know what to put here other than I hope that wasn't too much for anyone. I realise it was really intense and graphic, but I tried to be as sensitive as I could. I know I wrote it but I really feel like most of this story is writing itself and that is what happened whether I wanted it to or not.


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: So I hope I didn't scare anyone off with that last chapter. Just to reassure no-one is going to die in this story. When Blaine said it was too late to save himself he doesn't mean literally and it's going to be up to Kurt and everyone else to show him that's it not too late for him (wish I assure you they will).

Also I try to reply to all my reviews because I love them so much so if I missed any I'm sorry. (there are a few that won't let me though)

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Seven<p>

The room was silent as everyone processed what they'd just heard. Burt could tell that everyone was shocked. Detective Davis looked less than professional as he turned the recorder off with shaking hands, even the other guy who originally had seemed less than sympathetic to the two boys now looked a little green around the gills.

Blaine for his part just sat looking down at his hands, one nail picking at a small scab on his left hand. Burt heard someone crying quietly and looked over at where Natalie was sitting on the other side of Blaine. Their eyes met and he finally found he had some sympathy for the woman as he saw the pain, fear and sadness there. He watched as she hesitantly put her hand on Blaine's shoulder and winced with her when he flinched away.

Blaine lifted his head then and looked over at Burt.

"Please don't tell Kurt" he pleaded with him.

"He already knows" Burt said confused at the request.

"Not..not everything, not the details, please".

"Why Blaine?" Burt couldn't stop himself asking the question.

Blaine couldn't look at him as he replied. "Because I don't want him to know that I'm the reason he got hurt, that he almost died, I couldn't handle it if he hated me".

Burt reeled back in shock. How could Blaine think that any of this was his fault, from what Burt had just heard Blaine had done everything in his power to protect Kurt. Burt would honour his request but not for the reasons Blaine thought. Kurt would never hate Blaine for what had happened but Burt had a horrible feeling that if Kurt knew how much Blaine had sacrificed to keep him safe he might just hate himself.

"Blaine, Kurt would never hate you, none of this was your fault, I need you to believe that" Burt tried to get the boy to meet his eye but he refused. Burt sighed, realising he was fighting a losing battle. Maybe it was too soon, maybe Blaine was still too caught up in this too see things clearly, Burt would just have to keep reassuring him until something got through, he wasn't going to let Blaine come away from this feeling guilty.

"Oh Blaine, why did you keep this to yourself" Natalie sobbed.

Burt didn't think Blaine was going to answer at first, but he wanted to hear his answer too.

"Because if I didn't tell anyone it wasn't real, I thought if I just pretended it never happened, then I could convince myself that it was true, except it didn't work like that" Blaine admitted. "No matter how many times I tell myself it didn't happen I know it did. It's like it's still happening. Every time I close my eyes I can see them, everytime it's quiet I can hear them, but worst of all I can still feel them. I feel like my skins crawling and nothing I do can get rid of it". Blaine started to rub at his arms as though to prove his point but Natalie captured his hands in her own.

"I don't know how you can bear to touch me, not now that you know how dirty I am" Blaine tried to pull his hands away from hers.

"You're not dirty Blaine" she said pulling his hand up to her mouth and kissing it gently. "You're my son and I love you".

Blaine looked at where his hands were pressed against his mothers lips with widened eyes. Burt could tell that Blaine wasn't exactly ready to embrace his mom with open arms but that he appreciated that she was making an effort.

"I love you too mom" Blaine gave her a small smile back.

Burt's mind was in turmoil though as he kept going over and over what he'd just heard. He really needed to get out of this room and away from this nightmare. But he didn't want Blaine to think he was running away and leaving him. So when Blaine asked if he'd fetch Kurt he jumped at the chance. Giving Blaine one last squeeze on the shoulder he followed the two detectives out of the room.

Kurt was sitting with Carole just outside the room and she had to stop him from leaping to his feet when he saw Burt.

"Blaine wants to see you" Burt told him, suprised that his voice was so steady.

Kurt didn't say anything just got to his feet as quickly as he could and entered the room that Burt had just left.

"Is he okay?" Carole asked.

"Not really no" Burt replied and this time his voice did shake a little bit.

"Are you okay?" Carole reached a hand out to touch his arm and that comfort was what finally tipped him over the edge. With a shake of his head he was off down the corridor searching for either the nearest rest room or door to the outside. It was a rest room he spotted first, which was probably for the best because he was soon bent over one of the toilets emptying his stomach in violent burts. He hadn't realised Carole had followed him until he sat back and felt her cooling touch on the back of his neck. He didn't care how it looked as he leaned into her touch and strarted to sob.

Carole for her part didn't say a word, just sat down on the floor beside him, oblivious to the awful stench and held him whilst he let it all out. He allowed himself to cry for a few minutes before pulling back and wiping his face on his sleeve.

"That bad huh?" Carole asked passing him a tissue from her bag.

"Worse" Burt said simply as he gratefully used the tissue to blow his nose.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't think I can Carole, I don't know how he just did" Burt admitted. " They...what they did to him...my god. They brutalised him Carole".

Carole just shook her head sadly.

"I don't know how he's even walking about because if something like that had happened to me I don't think I'd be able to breath let alone function. But do you know what the worst thing is?" he looked across at her and she shook her head, letting him tell it in his own time.

"He still thinks that he's somehow to blame. Those bastards "Burt could feel his temper rising but it felt kind of good so he let it "they used Kurt against him, they basically made him choose between himself and Kurt and he chose Kurt. Yet he's still in there thinking he's done something wrong. If I ever see any of those ...I don't know what to call them because they're not men, Carole I think I might just rip their fucking heads off. They're just boys Carole" he was sobbing again now "how could they have done this to them".

"I don't know" Carole said as tears ran down her own face. "It looks like there's a good chance the police will get them though, that's one thing at least".

"You know what a part of me hopes they don't" Carole frowned at him. "Because here they'll be safe but if there out there maybe I might have a chance to catch up with them" he could tell he was scaring Carole a little bit but he couldn't stop himself, it felt good to get some of how he was feeling out in the open.

"Because I'd make them pay for this, I'd make sure they never had a good night's sleep again, I'd ruin their lives the way they've ruined Blaine's".

"His life doesn't have to be ruined by this" Carole was trying to calm him down.

"Do you really think that?" Burt turned on her. "Can you honestly say hand on heart that Blaine will ever get over this".

"Yes" Carole said the word with conviction and it stopped his anger in it's tracks. "I do, I think it's going to take a while and I'm not saying he's not going to change because of it but he's strong and he's loved and those two things are going to be enough".

"What if they're not?" Burt was scared to hear the answer.

"They will be because they have to be, we're not going to let him slip through the cracks and we're not going to let those bastards destroy him or Kurt, otherwise they may aswell have stayed in that alley for ever".

Burt had loved his first wife with all his heart and had been devestated when she'd died. He'd resigned himsef to spending the rest of his life alone until he'd met Carole. He'd felt guilty at first for loving another woman, as though he was betraying Kurt's mom's memory and although he'd always enjoyed her company he'd known that he would never love her as much as he'd loved Elizabeth. Until now that is because how could you not love a woman as amazing as Carole. He no longer felt guilty, just incredibly lucky. Some people never find the love of their lives and he'd found her twice.

"I love you" he said standing and reaching down to help her to her feet.

"I love you too" she smiled at him and he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

The door to the rest room opened and they turned to look at the man who had just entered.

"Oh I'm sorry " he said "I didn't mean to intrude" he said backing out, but giving them both a very strange look before he left.

They both watched the door swing shut behind the clearly confused man before bursting into laughter. They only laughed for a moment before the humour died away, but for those few seconds it felt really good.

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><p>AN: See ever so slight humour at the end, I can write something other than angst. Okay squint and you'll miss it but still. Thanks to Tonyj for the help with Kurt's mom's name, we went with what Kurt said his middle name was once, seems to be a fan fic favourite and who am I to go against convention.


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: So once again thankyou for all your lovely reviews, I seriously love you guys. I can't believe I'm still getting new story alerts and favourites for this little ramble of mine.

This ones a bit short, been feeling a little bit sick lately. If you follow me on Tumblr you'll probably know why but I'm not broadcasting it everywhere(you never know where there might be RL spies lol).

I thought we might nip over and see how the New Directions are doing. Are you coming?

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Eight<p>

Rachel wasn't suprised that she was the only one there yet. She liked being the first to arrive, especially since she was quite often the first one to leave aswell, usually in a huff about something. She'd thought about asking Finn for a ride but had decided he probably had enough on his plate without driving to the other side of town just to pick her up. Which is why when he showed up with Puck she was a little bit offeneded that he'd managed to make time for his friend but not for her. It was only made worse when he gave her a small wave but didn't come and sit down next to her. Intead he sat down next to Puck a few seats away. They seemed like they were in the middle of a very serious conversation, but that still didn't give him the right to ignore her like that.

A few others started to wander in and Rachel smiled politely at all of them, but noticed no-one chose to sit near her, surely they weren't still angry about what happened in New York?After all that had mainly been Finn's fault, she wasn't sure why they were still blaming her for it all. When Santana and Brittany walked in together and immediately joined Puck and Finn in their hushed conversation Rachel decided she'd had enough. She quietly moved over a few seats until she was sat behind them and proceeded to eavesdrop on their conversation.

She could only hear small snippets of what they were saying but it was enough to get her curious, she leaned in even closer.

"Is he okay?" Puck was asking and Rachel knew they must be talking about Kurt. She wasn't quite sure why they felt the need to whisper though. After all that was the whole reason that they had been gathered together any way.

She didn't hear Finn's reply but judging by the sad look on the others faces she guessed his answer wasn't what they wanted to hear. But Kurt was being released today wasn't he, surely that meant he was getting better.

"I'm just glad he's getting some help" Santana spoke then drawing Rachels attention to her. She was shocked by what she saw. This was about as stripped down and basic as Rachel had ever seen the other girl, she also looked worn down. "I hope he doesn't hate me for telling you guys". Rachel leaned closer trying to hear everything now.

"Blaine doesn't know you did" Finn reassured her. Wait, were they talking about Blaine, what was going on here?

"Then how did it all come out?" Puck was frowning.

"My mom found something..." Finn trailed off as though unwilling to say any more but one raised eyebrow from Santana had him carrying on. "His clothes...from that night".

"I don't understand" unsuprisingly it was Brittany who said that. " Why would his clothes give anything away?"

Finn didn't reply straight away and Rachel had to restrain herself from jumping into the conversation.

"They had ...um" Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat " certain ..um... " he clearly decided to come at it from a different angle " There was more than just bloodstains on them".

Rachel was even more confused now but from what she could see of the other's faces they knew exactly what he meant. Before she had a chance to find anything else out Mr Schuester walked in, followed closely by Miss Pilsbury. Looking around the room Rachel could see that everyone apart from Mercedes and Sam were now here. Strange that both of them were missing Rachel thought.

"Hey guys" Mr Schue gave them all a small smile. "I'm glad you could all make it today. As you probably guessed today isn't about Glee but about what happened to Kurt. I thought, and Miss Pilsbury agreed" She nodded next to him. " That it might be a good idea for us all to get together to talk about it. I know this has been pretty scarey and I want you all to know that if you need someone to talk to, either now or later, then we're here for you".

"Yes. The worst thing anyone can do in the sort of situation is to keep things to themselves" Miss Pilsbury was speaking now.

"You mean like the way Finn didn't tell us about it and if Santana hadn't been at the hospital then who knows when he would have got round to telling us" Mercedes said striding into the room with Sam by her side. Rachel looked at Finn and saw guilt flash across his face before he defended himself.

"My mom asked me not to Mercedes, I was going to call you but Santana beat me to it".

"Well you should have called sooner" Mercedes carried on " Kurt's my best friend I deserved to know" she sounded less angry and more sad now.

"Well the important thing is we know now" Mr Schue tried to break the tension. "Which means we can be there for Kurt, to help him through this. Everyone here is his friend and we all want to help him I'm sure, but that might mean giving him some space as well".

Rachel wasn't really listening as her mind had been going over and over what she'd just heard. They had clearly been talking about Blaine, not Kurt like she'd first thought. But that must mean that Blaine was hurt worse than they'd thought and what was it Finn had said about stained clothing? Her mind was jumping to all sorts of conclusions and as usual the valve between her thoughts and her mouth was wide open.

"What kind of stains were they?" she blurted out making Finn and the others jump, as they hadn't known she was sitting so close.

"What...wh..Rachel I don't" Finn fumbled over his words. Everyone else was now staring at them clearly confused.

"You said his clothes had something other than blood on them and that's how everyone found out. What does that mean Finn?" Rachel asked standing up now.

"You shouldn't have been listening" Santana hissed at her. "It's none of your business".

"Oh and it's yours, why is that huh?" Rachel was yelling now.

"Because I'm the only one who even noticed something was wrong" Santana screeched back. " No-one else even knew he was hiding something. You all claim to be Kurt's friend" she spun around to glare at everyone now, but no-one said anything just stared in shock at the tears that were coarsing down her face. "But none of you saw how much his boyfriend was hurting".

"What are you talking about Santana?" Mr Schue was asking. "I thought Blaine was okay, he said they didn't hurt him didn't he?"

"Well he was fucking lying wasn't he" Santana was sobbing now.

"Santana" Finn put a hand on her arm to try and calm her down.

"No Finn" she snatched her arm away "Why shouldn't they know? Why do they get to pretend that nothing happened to him? I have to know, I had to see what those sick bastards did to him. I have to lay awake at night trying not to see those fucking lovebites across his chest, why should they get to sleep easy? It's not fair" . She ran from the room then and Brittany chased after her.

No-one spoke for a minute, all too stunned, trying to get their heads around what they's just heard.

"What was Santana talking about Finn?" Mr Schue walked over to where Finn was sat and looked down at him. Rachel could tell from the look on his face that he already had a pretty good idea but that he needed Finn to confirm it.

"I... Kurt asked me not to tell you" Finn's voice was shaking and Rachel could see he had tears in his eyes.

"I think it's too late for that" Miss Pilsbury added.

"What happened to Kurt?" Tina asked quietly from beside Mike.

"It's not Kurt for fucks sake" Finn ran a hand through his hair. "Weren't you listening. It's Blaine, Blaine's the one that they... he's the one they hurt". The tears were spilling down his face.

"How did they hurt him Finn?" Miss Pilsbury asked gently but Finn shook his head.

"I can't ...I can't say it" he said.

Rachel looked around at all the people in the room, seeing the exact same expression on all of them, they were all scared and confused. She knew she was going to have to be the one to say it, that there was no hiding from it now. She put a hand on Finn's shoulder to let him know she had it and then she spoke.

"He was raped wasn't he?" Finn gave a small nod. "Blaine was raped". She knew she was crying but she didn't care because every one else was too. Finn seemed to collapse in on him self and Mr Schue pulled him into his arms.

The room was silent apart from the sound of Finn's sobs.

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><p>AN: So now they all know. Not sure whether that's a good thing or not, oh well I guess we'll soon see.


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: Oohh kind of forgot about spoiler warnings, sorry. Just assume anything is fair game from both seasons but I don't think many will come up as this story is following it's own path. I like to throw the odd one in just to prove I do watch the programme, none in this one though.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Twenty Nine<p>

Kurt gently stoked the side of Blaine's face that wasn't bruised, watching over the other boy as he slept. They were both on the sofa where they'd been since getting home from the police station earlier. Blaine had persuaded his mom to let him come back to Kurt's and as she'd got some things she needed to discuss with Kurt's parents she'd agreed. They'd set the boys up in the living room, making sure they were both comfortable before retreating to the kitchen. Neither boy had said much and Kurt hadn't been sure how close he should even sit to Blaine before the shorter boy had answered that problem by laying down with his head in Kurt's lap and curling into him slightly. Kurt had been slightly taken aback by the action but chose not to comment, letting Blaine take the comfort he needed. It hadn't been long before the weary boy's eyes closed and he'd fallen asleep. The weight of Blaine's head in his lap was starting to hurt his injured leg, but Kurt had no intention of moving anytime soon. He knew how exhausted Blaine was and he planned on letting him lay there as long as he needed. The television was on but Kurt had no idea what was playing as he only had eyes for the boy in front of him. He frowned slightly at the thin sheen of sweat that coated Blaine's face and resolved to check that he'd been taking his antibiotics when he woke up, the last thing he needed was to get sick on top of everything else.

He heard hushed voices from the kitchen, every now and then someone raised their voice slightly, usually his dad, only to be hushed into silence by someone, usually Carole. He knew they were talking about them and thought he'd heard Blaine's dad's name mentioned a couple of times, but no matter how much he strained he couldn't tell what was being said. Even though he was curious as hell he didn't want to risk disturbing Blaine.

He looked so young and innocent lying there that Kurt could almost forget the awful things that had happened to him, if he ignored the ugly bruising and the way Blaine flinched in his sleep every now and then. Every time he did it though Kurt hushed him quietly and continued to stroke his face lovingly. At one point Blaine seemed like he was starting to wake up, his face scrunching up in discomfort but Kurt leant down until his mouth was next to his ear and started to hum a lullaby. After a few seconds Blaine's face relaxed but Kurt kept on, the song one he remembered his mom singing to him when he'd been little. He tried to keep the tears from his eyes, he felt like he'd cried enough to last a life time, but knew there were probably many more to come.

He sensed, rather than heard, someone at the entrance to the room and looked up to see Carole standing there. She smiled at him.

"How's he doing?" she nodded at the boy in his lap.

"He's sleeping at least" Kurt offered in reply.

"Well that won't hurt. His mom's agreed to stay for dinner, I'll leave you two alone until it's ready. It will probably be a while" .

"Thanks" Kurt said grateful for the time alone. Even though Blaine was sleeping it was nice to spend some time together just the two of them. He knew the time was coming when they would need to talk about things but for now this was nice, it felt good to be there for Blaine. Even if it was just helping him feel safe enough to sleep for awhile.

Carole gave the two of them one last small smile and went back to the kitchen to join Burt and Natalie.

Kurt still couldn't make his mind up about Blaine's mom. He was glad that she was finally offering her son some support but he was worried about how long it would last. She didn't seem like she had the strength needed to help Blaine get through this and he just hoped she wouldn't end up falling apart. At the police station she had stood back and let Burt and Carole deal with almost everything and whilst it had been nice to see her holding Blaine's hand and giving him encouraging squeezes and smiles, Kurt had been sad to see that Blaine had been returning the gestures in equal quantities. He was angry that Blaine felt the need to reassure his mom in a time like this, when he was the one who needed it most.

He heard someone else shuffling in the doorway and expected it to be another concerned parent and was suprised instead to see Finn standing there. He was shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot and seemed like he didn't know whether to come in or just leave them alone.

"It's okay Finn, just don't be too loud, I don't want to wake him up" Kurt nodded at Blaine. Finn gave the curly haired boy a guilty look before sitting down in the armchair across from them.

There was a few moments of uncomfotable silence with Finn looking more and more guilty all the time.

Kurt sighed before speaking, he had the feeling he knew the answer before he even asked the question.

"They know don't they?" Finn's eyes went wide with shock before he reluctantly nodded his head.

Kurt felt his anger rising as he hissed out between his teeth.

"For god's sake Finn, I asked for one thing and you couldn't do it".

Finn flinched back from the harsh words before attempting to defend himself.

"Well it wasn't really me, Rachel overheard what we were saying", Kurt rolled his eyes, he might have known Rachel would have played a part, as much as he loved the girl she had a nasty habit of sticking her nose in where it wasn't wanted, "and then Santana kind of freaked out and said some stuff she probably shouldn't have and then I had to explain it all".

"Wait Santana, how did she know anything?" Kurt asked, confused now.

"Blaine didn't tell you?" Finn raised his eyebrows in suprise.

"Blaine hasn't really told me anything" Kurt admitted sadly.

"Oh, um. Well Santana helped him out when you were in the hospital and she kind of figured out what had happened to him. He didn't tell her exactly, but he's got some... marks that kind of gave it away" Kurt looked back down at Blaine and tried not to picture what was hiding under his sweatshirt.

"Why didn't she tell anyone?" Kurt was getting angry again.

"She did, she told me, before everything blew up, I never got a chance to say anything though".

"Why did she wait though?" Kurt wasn't willing to let her off the hook that easily.

"Because Blaine made her promise not too" Finn defended her again. Kurt didn't think he'd ever see the day that would happen, but everything was different now he guessed.

He took a moment to think over what Finn had just said and realised he wasn't angry at Santana, in truth he was kind of grateful to her. At least somene had been there for Blaine, even when the rest of them had been so clueless. In fact he almost felt sorry for her, it must have been awful, keeping that secret. Kurt didn't know what he would have done in that situation, on the one hand knowing Blaine desperatly needed some help and at the same time not wanting to betray his trust.

"How did everyone react?" Kurt asked as his curiosity got the best of him.

"Kind of how you'd expect" Finn ran a weary hand over his face. "Shocked, upset, angry, I don't know. I still don't know how I feel and I've had a little while to think about it. Can I be honest with you?" Finn shot a guilty glance at Blaine as he asked Kurt the question.

"Of course" Kurt replied.

"I'm kind of glad he's asleep right now, because when he's awake I don't have a clue what to say to him, how to act and I'm so damn scared that I'm going to say or do the wrong thing".

Kurt remembered Finn saying something similar in the hospital and found himself nodding because if he was honest with himself, he kind of felt the same way.

"I feel like whatever we do will be the wrong thing for now, but we just have to try I guess. He needs to know that we don't care what happened to him. Well obviously we care" Kurt struggled to explain himself " but that it doesn't change how we see him. He's still Blaine and whatever they did can't change that, we just have to convince him that's true".

"He's really lucky you know".

Kurt shot him a look that spoke volumes.

"Oh I don't mean..." Finn face went red from embarressment. "I meant he's lucky he's got you".

Kurt tilted his head on one side waiting for Finn to continue.

"You're being amazing, really strong. Not that I ever thought you were weak" Finn was quick to add, trying hard not to offend. Kurt smiled to let him know it was okay. "Blaine's going to be okay I think and that's because he's got you".

He was both pleased and terrified to know that Finn thought that. It was a huge responsibilty to bear and he was scared that he wasn't up to the task.

"What if I'm not enough though?" Kurt spoke his fears aloud.

"Have you seen the way he looks at you?" Finn asked. "I have, both before this and since, you're definitely enough, because to him you're everything".

Kurt's breath hitched at those words because he knew they were true and that's what scared him so much.

Blaine mumbled something in his sleep then and both Finn and Kurt looked at him in concern. He shifted slightly before seeming to settle again and both of them gave a sigh of relief. Neither boy spoke again until Burt came to fetch them for dinner.

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><p>AN: I guess not much happened then but I wanted Finn to have a little bit of a say, I've always thought that for how dumb he can be sometimes he's also very insightful.

Also I'm going to do something here I didn't think I would do. Take requests, kind of. I really want the New Directions to be a part of this but I think if I try to show everyone I'm going to get lost. Santana, Puck and Mercedes are definitely going to play a part but I just wondered if anyone has got a preference as to who else I bring into it. At this point I'm open to suggestions and will try to do anyone you suggest justice, whoever it is might not show up straight away though but I will try and write them in eventually.


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Sorry this is late, lots of excuses I won't bore you with. So this will be my last update until friday, I'm going to busy the next couple of days. Why's that you ask? Cus I'm going to see Darren Freakin' Criss in London on wednesday!

I'll reply to all your lovely reviews once I'm back on solid ground, my brains really not functioning very well at the minute.

Don't own em. (yet, you never know what might happen wednesday)

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><p>Chapter Thirty<p>

So dinner was uncomfortable, and that was a huge understatement.

Carole asked Finn how the Glee club meeting had gone earlier and judging by the evasiveness of his answer and the guilty look he shot Blaine, Burt had a feeling Finn hadn't been able to keep his promise to Kurt. He hoped that the other kids at least had enough sense to wait for now. The last thing either boy needed was to have to deal with all of Kurt's friends.

But Finn wasn't the only one shooting Blaine looks, just maybe the worst at hiding it. Burt himself spent as much time looking at the tired looking boy as he did his food, which would probably explain why he'd dropped pasta sauce down himself twice already.

"This is lovely Carole" Natalie complimented his wife's cooking "it's so nice to have a simple meal for a change, I get so tired of eating out at restaurants all the time". Burt fought back the urge to roll his eyes at the unintended insult.

"Well we have simple tastes" Carole replied with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "The last time Blaine came over we had this and he said he really enjoyed it so I thought it might be nice to have it tonight".

"Oh, well that was very kind of you" Natalie said."I didn't know you liked this kind of thing Blaine" she seemed a little put out that Carole knew something about her own son that she didn't, but Burt couldn't give a damn if the woman's feelings were hurt. She may be supporting Blaine a little now but she still had a long way to go before he could ever think of her as being as good a mother as Carole.

Blaine didn't reply just conttinued to push the food on his plate around, from the looks of it very little had actually made it to his mouth though. Kurt caught his eye and Burt knew he wasn't the only one who'd noticed.

"You've not eaten much" Burt said gently trying to get Blaine's attention.

"I know sorry, I'm not very hungry" Blaine admitted pushing his plate away with a sigh. "I'm just really tired" he ran a weary hand over his face and slumped further down in the seat.

"Well I'll just finish up here and we'll get going" Natalie offered.

"You're more than welcome to stay here" Carole offered. "There's the guest room that Blaine stayed in and I'm sure Finn would let you have his room and he can sleep on the sofa."

Finn to his credit nodded along with Carole's idea even though Burt knew there was no way he would fit his long frame onto that tiny piece of furniture.

"Oh no, we couldn't possibly impose" Natalie declined the offer, politely dabbing at her mouth with her napkin. Burt frowned, since when the hell did they have napkins?

Burt knew Blaine had said something from the way Kurt reacted but he hadn't heard what it was.

"I'm sorry Blaine, what did you say?" he asked getting up from the table and starting to collect the dishes.

"I want to stay here tonight" it was still said very quietly, but it may aswell have been shouted by the way his mom reacted.

Natalie reeled back as though she'd been punched and Burt thought he could see her eyes tear up.

"Don't you want to come home with me honey?" Burt could hear the tremor in her voice.

"It's not that mom" Blaine looked at his mom with sad eyes. "I just I think I'll sleep better if I know Kurt's here" he looked down after making the admission as though he couldn't bear to see his mom's reaction. Burt didn't like the fact that Blaine was still so worried about upsetting his mom, she definetely knew how to play the guilt card.

"But..." Natalie trailed off, Burt could tell she wanted to say no but she also didn't want to upset Blaine.

"Blaine's exhausted" Carole, ever the voice of reason, butted in. "Maybe it would be best if he stayed here, just for tonight".

"Please" Burt was suprised to hear Kurt say that, he knew he didn't like Natalie but he was ignoring his own feelings about the woman to plead on his boyfriend's behalf.

Natalie clearly wasn't used to standing up for herself and this time was no exception.

"Well if that's what you want Blaine?" he nodded and she sighed. "Okay, just for tonight then, I have some things I need to sort out anyway, maybe it would be best if you stayed here".

Natalie looked over at Burt then and he knew one of the things Natalie needed to deal with was calling Blaine's father. It was something they'd argued over earlier. Burt suprisingly had been the one who had insisted that she did. He had a feeling that Blaine's father might make things worse but it was unfair of them to not even give him the chance to support his son through this. Burt couldn't imagine how he would feel if someone kept something this huge from him about his son and even though he didn't like the man he deserved to know. He was going to need to know at some point anyway, there didn't seem much point in putting it off any longer. Natalie had disagreed, of course,. It had took more than a few heated words by both himself and Carole before she'd finally seen what they were trying to tell her.

Even though Burt thought this was for the best he had to admit it was probably a good idea if Blaine wasn't around to hear the conversation. Burt didn't like the idea of keeping things from him, but the boy needed a good nights sleep and he wasn't going to get that if he was worrying about his father.

As soon as dinner was over Natalie had left to make the drive home and Blaine had headed straight upstairs to have a shower before bed.

Burt knew Kurt wanted to ask him something and decided to put him out of his misery.

"What is it Kurt?" he turned to look at him putting the dishtowel down and leaning on the sink.

"Oh um" Kurt was taken by suprise by the question. He ducked his head and almost mumble his question. "Can Blaine sleep in my room tonight? I think he'll sleep.."

"Okay" Burt said but Kurt continued as though he hadn't heard.

"...better and I think I will too, we'll leave the door..."Kurt trailed off when he finally realised what his dad had just said. "Oh really, I thought..."

"Look Kurt I know what I said before about having boys sleep over in your room, but this is different. I think you're right, you'll both benefit from being near each other".

Burt knew his son loved him but he was still suprised when Kurt threw himself into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Thanks dad" the words were muffled against his shirt but he heard them well enough.

"You're welcome Kurt" he smiled down at his son.

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><p>Blaine walked through the woods on almost silent feet. It was so peaceful here and the way the light was shining through the branches cast a magical light onto the forest floor. Blaine took a deep breath, relishing the sweat smell in the air, it was a familiar scent, one that brought a certain blue eyed boy to mind and he took another deep breath.<p>

The only thing that seemed odd was that there was no sound, no rustling in the undergrowth, no bird calls, just silence. It was a little unnerving actually and Blaine felt a cold shiver go down his back. Looking down at himself he wasn't suprised that he was cold though because he was only wearing a t-shirt and it was wet with something. Blaine frowned as he tried to figure out what the dark substance staining his clothes was.

His mind shied away from whatever it was and he hurried on his way. The light seemed to be dimming and tree's snagged at his arms and legs as though trying to keep him in place.

He took anothe deep breath trying to recall the lovely scent from only moments before but this one caught in his throat and he couldn't seem to draw enough air into his lungs. He tripped over a gnarled tree root and fell to his knees gasping. What had only moments before seemed like an idle setting morphed into something else and all he could make out was bricks and dirt. He clawed at the unseen fingers around his throat. There was a weight on top of him and he pushed frantically away.

Hands grabbed at his arms and he struggled against the grip, great racking sobs shaking his frame.

"Blaine please stop, please Blaine, you're scaring me" Kurt's words tore at his heart and his eyes flew open in response. Burt had hold of his arms but when he saw that he was awake now he slowly released them but didn't get off the bed.

"Kurt" Blaine gasped out and Kurt reached for his hand from where he was sitting on the floor. Wait a minute, why was he on the floor?

"Oh god Kurt I'm so sorry" Blaine cried as he realised he must have pushed Kurt off the bed on his panic.

"It's okay" Kurt reassured him as he climbed back in beside him.

"I didn't hurt you did I?" Blaine looked over Kurt as he waited for the reply.

"No of course not" Kurt answered and Blaine knew from the way his voice wavered that he was lying.

"I'm so sorry Kurt, I'm sorry you got hurt" and he wasn't just talking about tonight now.

"I know Blaine" Kurt sobbed back "I'm sorry you got hurt aswell".

"I need to have a shower" Blaine said jumping from the bed and fleeng to the bathroom. He slammed the door shut behind him, pleased that neither Kurt or his father tried to follow him. He turned the shower on as full as it would go and as soon as he was stripped off stepped under the scalding water. He srubbed at himself frantically before dropping the washcloth in defeat and just standing there whilst the water flowed over him.

He'd hurt Kurt, all because of some stupid nightmare. His weakness had caused the boy he loved pain, he would never forgive himself for that.

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><p>AN: So next chapter will be after the gig. I'm pretty sure I won't get a chance to meet him but even if I did I don't think I could look him in the eye after all the awful things I've done to his character.


	31. Chapter 31

A/N:I'm so sorry this took so long, lots going on.

Wow over 500 reviews, I'm not sure I deserve that, thank you all so much.

Also I've made a decision that I'm probably not going to update this quite as quickly as I have in the past. A couple of reviewers on the last chapter pointed out the amount of spelling mistakes and bad grammar are distracting, this is something I've become increasingly more aware of. I think in my rush to get each chapter out I'm neglecting to check them over properly. Now I'm not saying there's not still going to be some but I am going to make more of an effort to keep on top of them. That said I am just doing this for entertainment, my own and yours as well I hope, so I don't want to turn it into something that feels like work.

Also Darren Criss was every bit as awesome as I was expecting. Also I met Joe Walker and shook his hand!

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Thirty One<p>

Kurt spent the rest of the night alone.

When Blaine had finally emerged from the shower he had insisted on sleeping in the spare room and no amount of arguing on Kurt's part had been able to persuade him otherwise. Kurt had watched sadly as Blaine had shuffled off, eyes downcast, muttering something about hurting the ones you love.

Kurt had then lain awake the rest of the night, staring at the ceiling, resisting the urge to go and be with his boyfriend. He knew that Blaine needed him but he wasn't sure that Blaine knew that and the last thing he wanted to do was push him away further.

When light started to filter in through the curtains Kurt managed to keep himself in bed until his clock read 6.00am before finally jumping up to take a shower. It was still tricky trying not to get the bandage on his leg wet but he was determined that he wouldn't ask for help. Now he was out of the hospital he was focused on getting better so that he could be there for Blaine as much as he needed him to be.

He opened his closet doors and allowed himself a small smile at the familiar comfort of all the fabulous clothes hanging there. Aware that he still needed to be dressing for comfort and not necessarily fashion, he picked out an outfit that managed to fit both criteria and hurriedly dressed. Running a comb through his hair and applying the minimal amount of gel needed to make it look presentable he left his room as quickly as his injured leg would allow and made his way down the hall to the guest room.

His heart sank a little when he saw that the door was ajar and there was no sign of Blaine. In fact the bed didn't look slept in at all. Kurt managed to calm the panic in his heart with a reminder of how meticulous Blaine could be about his surroundings. He probably made the bed neatly as soon as he'd woken up. That didn't explain where he was now though and why he hadn't looked in on Kurt before heading anywhere.

Kurt spun around to head downstairs and almost ran into Finn.

"Whoa dude are you okay?" Finn held a steadying hand out to him and Kurt took it gratefully.

"Yeah, have you seen Blaine?" Kurt asked.

"He's in the kitchen" Finn nodded his head in the direction of the stairs.

"Oh thank god" Kurt slumped slightly in relief.

"You didn't think he'd ran out on you did you?" Finn asked leading the way to the staircase, neither boy mentioned that he still had a hold of Kurt.

"No of course not" Kurt scoffed and also ignored the raised eyebrow that Finn shot his way. "I just...I'm worried about him I guess" he admitted finally.

"Yeah I get that" Finn helped Kurt navigate the stairs and the two of them entered the kitchen together.

Even though it was still quite early everyone else was already there. Kurt knew he wasn't the only one glad that the night was over, everyone looked bleary eyed from lack of sleep. Not least of all Blaine.

Kurt still couldn't help the wave of revulsion he felt when he saw what those men had done to Blaine's face. Although all of it would heal eventually it was still upsetting to see such brutality written across the face of such a gentle boy. It only served to remind him of all the unseen injuries that the other boy was dealing with, both physical and emotional.

Blaine had a plate in front of him that was loaded with bacon and eggs, he was looking down at it as though it was about to leap off the plate and attack him.

"Morning boys" Burt said as he dished out some of the food onto his own plate. Kurt chose not to say anything about the unhealthy choice for once.

Kurt grabbed his phone from the worktop where it had been charging overnight and turned it on as he sat down next to Blaine. Kurt grimaced at the amount of messages and missed calls that came up on his display. He opened the first one from Mercedes.

**I know, please call me.**

He was aware of the fact that Blaine was also looking at his phone but when Kurt turned to look at him he quickly averted his eyes. Kurt sighed and put the phone down, it could wait till later.

"Does anyone want some toast?"Carole asked from her place at the counter where she was spreading butter over several slices of toast.

"Yes please Carole" Kurt said looking down at Blaine's hands. He had put his knife and fork down and was instead picking at one of the scabs on his left hand.

"Don't do that Blaine, you'll make it bleed" he gently put his own hand over Blaine's and pulled it away. Carole placed the toast on his plate.

"What about you Blaine, do you want some?" Kurt asked biting down on the piece he'd just picked up.

"No thanks" Blaine almost whispered the words.

"How did you sleep?" Carole asked sitting down across from them. Blaine shot Kurt a guilty look before shrugging.

Kurt looked around the table and could see the concerned looks everyone was giving Blaine, but he was oblivious and instead picked his fork up and moved the eggs on his plate around a bit more.

"You look like you might have a temperature" Kurt said placing his hand on his boyfriend's forehead, careful not to press on the still sore looking wound there. Blaine still flinched away with a hiss though. "Have you been taking your meds?"

"Yes" Blaine answered shortly.

"It's just I haven't seen you take any and I've been with you practically the whole time" Kurt explained.

"Well I took them okay" Blaine seemed a little bit annoyed now and Kurt didn't want to risk upsetting him so he let the subject drop.

This was the sort of breakfast Kurt normally avoided but this morning he had to admit that he was finding it delicious. He eagerly put some more of the eggs into his mouth and rolled his eyes in delight.

"This tastes really good Carole" Kurt complimented his step-mother.

"Actually your father cooked them" Carole admitted with a small smile.

"Before you start Kurt, I know this isn't the healthiest breakfast but I thought we all deserved something fattening this morning. Sometimes it's good to let loose and enjoy yourself a little" Burt defended himself. Kurt couldn't help the small smile that came to his lips when he noticed his dad pull his own plate a little closer as though he was worried Kurt might snatch it away from him.

"I couldn't agree more" Kurt told him and Burt widened his eyes in amazement. Kurt had made sure his dad followed a strict diet since his heart attack, but really what was the point in living a long life if you couldn't enjoy anything. That's not to say Kurt was going to let this become a regular occurrence, but once in a while couldn't really hurt.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying the artery clogging breakfast, apart from Blaine of course. He continued to push the food around his plate and Kurt had yet to see him put a single bite in his mouth.

"Don't you like it Blaine?" Carole asked, obviously Kurt wasn't the only one who'd noticed Blaine's lack of appetite.

"No it's fine, I'm just not that hungry" Blaine answered. Kurt hated how lifeless Blaine's voice sounded. He was usually so excited about everything, so enthusiastic, hearing him like this broke Kurt's heart a little bit more.

"Come on Blaine" Kurt said scooping some eggs up onto his own fork and offering them to Blaine. "They're so good, try some just for me". He aimed the fork at Blaine's mouth but before it could reach his lips Blaine knocked it from his grasp, egg flying everywhere.

"I'm not a fucking baby" Blaine growled leaping to his feet.

Kurt winced as the fork clattered onto the table and stared at Blaine in shock.

Blaine stared back and Kurt saw the moment the anger left his eyes to be replaced by guilt and fear.

"I'm sorry Kurt, I just..."he tried to apologise and Kurt could see his eyes filling up with tears.

Kurt reached his hand out to Blaine but the other boy took one look at it before rushing from the room.

Kurt was instantly on his feet about to follow his boyfriend. He needed to tell him it was okay, that there was nothing to forgive but before he could Burt put out a hand to stop him.

"Let me Kurt" he said and Kurt sat back down and watched as his father followed his boyfriend from the room.

Kurt pushed his plate away, the congealing pile of grease on his plate no longer held any appeal for him.

"What do I do now?" Kurt asked.

"Just wait Kurt, let your dad do what he does best" Carole answered and Kurt allowed himself to relax a little because he knew she was right. His dad was a master at fixing things, no matter how broken they might be.

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><p>AN: So probably not worth the wait. I've also really set myself up for an epic conversation between Burt and Blaine in the next chapter, hope I can deliver. For anyone wondering Blaine's dad is going to show up soon. I have something else I want to do and I'm not sure whether to bring him into this before or after that as it might change how it goes, but either way he'll be in it at some point.


	32. Chapter 32

A/N:I'm not sure this is epic but Burt gets to have a bit of a say at least. There's some slightly cringey stuff at the end but I felt it was needed if I want to stay true to how I've written this so far.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Thirty Two<p>

Burt was a little worried that Blaine might have taken off in his car so he was relieved when he saw a familiar curly haired head sitting out on the back porch.  
>He pushed the door open and shut it gently so it wouldn't slam. He didn't want to risk startling the fragile teenager.<p>

"I'm sorry Mr Hummel, I'll get going in a minute" Blaine spoke without looking up at him. "I just didn't feel like I could drive just yet".

"You don't need to go Blaine" Burt lowered himself down until he was sitting next to Blaine on the wooden step, close but not close enough to be touching. He saw the way Blaine pulled away slightly though.

"I do, I shouldn't have snapped at Kurt like that. I just keep hurting him" Blaine sighed and traced his fingers over something only he could see in the grain of the wood. "It's not fair ..."

"You're right Blaine" Burt interrupted him and Blaine's hand stilled against the step. "It's not fair, none of this is, but you need to stop blaming yourself".

Blaine seemed like he was about to say something but Burt raised his hand to stop him.

"No Blaine let me speak. There are some things I need to tell you. I keep putting it off because I thought you weren't ready but that was stupid of me. You might not be ready to hear this but I hope you'll at least listen. Then maybe when things aren't quite so raw you'll be able to think about what I'm about to say and maybe it will help".

Blaine just sat there, staring down at the step still. Burt took the fact that he didn't get up to leave as a good sign.

"No you shouldn't have lost your temper with Kurt and I'm sure once you've cleared your head you'll go in and apologise to him, but if any one's got a right to be angry right now it's you. If throwing a bit of egg around makes you feel better, go for it, because you can't keep bottling this all up. I know you're not as open with your emotions as Kurt and having spoken to both your parents I can see why, but I know that doesn't mean you don't feel anything. Hell kid, I'm so angry for you right now I'm scared I'm going to pop a blood vessel".

Blaine looked at him then, concern written all over his face.

"No, no I'm fine, don't worry about me. In fact stop worrying about everyone else so damn much and let us worry about you for a change".

"I don't want people to worry about me" Blaine admitted.

"Well you don't really get a say, the people who care about you are worried, especially when we see that you're not eating, or sleeping or taking your meds. I feel like we're just standing by and watching you fade away Blaine".

"What if that's what I want" the words, spoken in such a broken way, made Burt's heart clench but at the same time he was glad that Blaine was talking to him, not just keeping it all to himself.

"But you don't, do you? Not really?" Burt coaxed.

"I don't know" Blaine sighed running a weary hand through his hair. "I just...I don't feel like me anymore. I feel like I left Blaine in that alley and now I'm nothing".

"You're not nothing Blaine" Burt voice was gruff with anger, not at Blaine but at the circumstances that led to making this wonderful boy feel like that. "I'm not going to lie to you, I don't think you'll ever be the same as you were before, but that doesn't mean you won't be you".

Burt took a minute to think through what he wanted to say to Blaine, what he needed to say. It felt like a minefield, one wrong word and the whole thing could blow up in his face.

"What I heard yesterday, what you told us happened, made me sick to my stomach. You're a good kid Blaine, I know that. I may not have known you that long but I've seen what you're like with Kurt and more importantly what he's like with you. I love my son to death but that doesn't mean I'm blind to his flaws and since he's been with you he's changed, he's grown up a lot and he's going to be a better man for it".

"I don't think that's because of me" Blaine tried to protest.

"Don't sell yourself short I've seen it with my own eyes. But my point is that it doesn't matter, even if I thought you were an asshole nobody deserves what those bastards" Burt saw Blaine flinch at the word "did to you, nobody".

They both sat their in silence for a while as Burt hoped Blaine thought about what he was saying to him.

"Look it's early days, no-one expects you to get over this today. Right now it's still so fresh, but things will get better. I know it a cliche but time really does heal all, that's' why it gets said all the time. When my wife died I thought I was going to die too. If I'm honest a part of me wanted to. But I didn't and do you know why?"

"Kurt" the reply was whispered.

"Yes Kurt. I knew I couldn't leave him, that he needed me and over time I came to realise that I needed him just as much".

"This isn't the same, nobody died" Blaine's voice was bitter.

"Really? Because it's starting to feel that way. I know you said you don't feel like you any more but don't let them destroy you completely. If you can't do it for yourself yet, then do it for the people who love you. I promise things will get easier".

"How can you promise that, how can you be so sure?" Blaine seemed to genuinely want the answer.

"Because we're not going to let this go any other way. I'm not going to just sit on my ass and watch you disappear, you're too important for that. In fact in a minute you're going to go back in that house and eat some damn breakfast even if I have to force feed you".

"I don't know if I can" Blaine sighed.

"Why? I don't understand why you are making yourself suffer even more" Burt resisted the urge to grab Blaine by the shoulders and shake him. He knew he was a smart kid, why was he so resistant to letting himself get better?

"It's not that ...I.." Blaine stood up then and stepped down off the porch so now his back was completely to Burt. "God this is so embarrassing".

"What is it Blaine, you can tell me anything". Burt stayed where he was not wanting to push too much.

"No I can't, this is just...I can't tell you this".

"Honestly Blaine, you have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing you can say is going to bother me".

"Well it bothers me" Blaine blurted out. He reached up and grabbed hold of his hair letting out a frustrated yell. "God I hate this so much. I shouldn't have to talk about this, none of this should be happening. I'm so fucking sick of everything. You're my boyfriend's dad, I shouldn't be talking about stuff like this with you. I don't know why I invited you into that room yesterday because now I can't bear to look you in the eye, now you know how disgusting I am".

"I don't think you're disgusting Blaine, I would never think that" Burt spoke but Blaine didn't seem to hear him, so Burt stood up. He walked over to where Blaine was standing and placed his hands on his shoulders turning him around to face him. Blaine wouldn't look up at him though, instead he fixed his gaze on the buttons at Burt's collar.

"Look at me Blaine" Burt asked but Blaine shook his head. "Please".

Blaine sighed and slowly raised his eyes until they met Burt's. Burt was once again shocked at the boy's appearance, Blaine spent so much time averting everyone's gaze that he'd almost forgotten the damage that had been done to his face. A burning rage swept through him for a minute before he pushed it down, it wasn't what Blaine needed to see right now. Instead he let all the compassion and love he felt for this boy show instead. Blaine's one good eye widened in shock before starting to fill up with tears.

Blaine nodded at him in recognition of what he was trying to do so Burt didn't stop him when he pulled away so he could face away from him. Some things were impossible to say face to face.

"I'm scared to eat" Blaine's voice was shaky and Burt frowned in confusion.

"Is it because of your throat, because I'm sure that..."

"It's not my throat" Blaine interrupted him and Burt shut his mouth with a snap. If it wasn't his throat then...

"Did Carole tell you what the doctor said?" Blaine asked him then and Burt's mind was already racing ahead to what the problem might be.

"Yes" he answered simply.

"Then you know about all the injuries?" Blaine didn't wait for an answer this time just kept talking. Burt didn't interrupt because he knew how hard this was for the boy. "About the tear..."Blaine's voice broke then and Burt could see him visibly take a deep breath before continuing " the tearing?"

"Yes" Burt answered again and was proud that he managed to get that one word out without choking. He wanted to stop Blaine then, because he had a feeling he knew what the problem was and Blaine was right, this was as embarrassing as hell. But if Blaine was brave enough to say it, then he damn well was going to be strong enough to hear it.

"I don't want to eat because I don't want to have to..."

"Oh god Blaine" Burt couldn't help himself.

"Please tell me you know what I'm saying here because I really don't want to have to say it".

"I know" Burt let him off the hook. He wished to hell he didn't but he did. When Elizabeth had given birth to Kurt all those years ago she ended up needing stitches. He had overheard her talking to the women in her antenatal group a short while later admitting, amongst embarrassed laughter, how nervous she'd been about going to the toilet for the first time after the birth, worried that she would damage something down there. Before announcing his presence and bringing an end to the cringe worthy conversation (at least from his perspective) he'd heard his wife say that in the end there'd been absolutely nothing to worry about.

He knew that Blaine's situation was different but he was for the first time in his life glad that he'd heard that long ago conversation because he know felt that he could answer with at least a degree of honesty.

"It'll be fine Blaine trust me. I'm sure if it was something to be concerned about the doctor would have mentioned it. You need to eat Blaine and just trust that nature knows what it's doing".

Blaine looked at him, his face was red with embarressment but he seemed surprised at Burt's answer, that he was even still stood there actually.

"You really think so?" Blaine asked and he sounded so young and unsure that Burt finally gave into his urge to grab the young man and pull him to him.

"I'm positive" Burt said talking into Blaine's curly hair. "Small steps Blaine, small steps".

"Thank You" Blaine's reply was muffled against Burt's shirt but he heard it all the same.

"You're welcome kid" Burt ruffled Blaine's hair and let him step away from him. "What's your favourite breakfast?"

Blaine stood and thought before tilting his head on one side and answering. "Blueberry pancakes, my mom used to make them for me when I was upset or ill" he managed a small smile as he said that, but it turned sad and wistful as he continued "I've not had them for years".

Burt chose not to comment on that.

"Well let's go inside and see if Carole can rustle up a few shall we?"

"I thought you were the cook this morning" Blaine commented.

"Yeah bacon and eggs is about all I can manage. Kurt's been trying to teach me but it's not going too well. The point of this is for you to eat something, not for me to poison you".

Blaine actually gave a small laugh and Burt thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest at the sound. The pair of them walked back into the house side by side.

* * *

><p>AN: Okay I realise that the stuff about going to the toilet is a bit icky but from the research I did this got metioned quite a bit. I wanted to explain why Blaine isn't eating and it's not because he's developing an eating disorder. Let's just say I'm Elizabeth in this chapter because having had a baby and stitches this was definetely something I worried about. If anyone thinks it was unlikely that she would have talked to her friends about something like that believe me you don't want to know the things new mums talk to each other about. (Sorry if that's too much information, especially about my own lady parts, but I felt the need to explain myself).


	33. Chapter 33

A/N: So first of all I was kind of worried about the last chapter so thank you for all the encouraging reviews. Also I know I'm taking longer between updates but don't worry it doesn't mean I'm losing interest, far from it. Most of the time when I'm not writing I'm thinking about this story and it's usually a relief to get it written down and out of my head. I've had such a fantastic response to this that it's a little intimidating. I feel such a weight of responsibilty to do the subject justice. So I'm thinking about what I'm writing a lot more. Also I don't want to turn this into one of those stories where the author moans about their real life or health or whatever but I have really been struggling with tiredness lately, something that should now be easing off thankfully. Anyway enough about me and on with the story. This chapter was inspired by a reviewer who really wanted some Klaine cuddles, not quite sure this qualifies but I tried.

Also I finally bit the bullet and got a beta. So thank you so much to Rory46 for all your help and many encouraging words.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Thirty Three<p>

Kurt was helping Carole with the dishes when Blaine and his dad came back into the kitchen. Finn had left as soon as his plate was clear, and Kurt hadn't really been paying attention to where he said he was going though, his mind too preoccupied with what was happening outside.

"Oh they're already cleaning up." Blaine's voice behind him almost caused Kurt to drop the plate he was holding. "It doesn't matter I'll..."

"You'll nothing, Blaine," Burt interrupted him. "Carole, apparently Blaine's favorite breakfast is blueberry pancakes and we were wondering if you might be nice enough to rustle us up a few."

Kurt looked at Blaine, trying to read what was going on but all he could see was a faint tinge of embarrassment.

"But really if it's too much trouble I can..." Blaine started to protest.

Kurt saw the look his dad shot Carole and from the way she quickly interrupted Blaine, he knew she had as well.

"Nonsense. It's no trouble at all. In fact, why don't you two boys go wait in the den while I make them? Leave those dishes, Kurt. Your father can finish them for you."

Kurt put the plate he was holding on the drainer and dried his hand on a hand towel.

"Are you sure?" he asked, just to be polite.

"Of course. I'll yell when they're ready." Carole shooed them out of the kitchen with a smile.

Before leaving the kitchen to follow Blaine into the den, Kurt made sure one thing was clear.

"Just enough for Blaine though, Carole. Dad's had more than enough carbs this morning." Carole chuckled at the offended look on her husband's face and Kurt left them to it.

Kurt actually found he was a little nervous about how to approach Blaine- he wasn't sure what to say and didn't want to risk upsetting him again. It turned out he didn't need to worry as Blaine spoke as soon as he entered the room.

"I'm so sorry Kurt, I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry I keep hurting you." Blaine's voice was distraught and Kurt didn't even have to think about it as he crossed the room quickly and wrapped his arms around the slightly smaller teenager.

"Oh Blaine, it's okay. You don't have to apologize. I'm okay. It's you I'm worried about."

"I know and I'm sorry for that too." Blaine wasn't resisting Kurt's embrace, but he wasn't returning it either and Kurt wasn't sure what to do.

In the end he decided to pull away from him slightly, just so he could look him in the eye as he spoke to him.

"Blaine, please stop apologizing. Come on, sit down . I think we need to talk a little bit."

Blaine sighed wearily.

"What's the matter?" Kurt asked as they sat side by side on the sofa.

"I'm getting tired of talking," Blaine said looking down at his hands.

"Okay then - just listen," Kurt said in a tone that wouldn't take any arguments.

Blaine looked at him in surprise, but Kurt just raised his eyebrow at him.

"I love you Blaine," Kurt began, taking Blaine's hand in his and rubbing the back of it gently with his thumb. "I'm sorry if I was pushing earlier but I'm worried about you."

"I don't want you to be," Blaine protested.

"I know you don't, but you don't get a choice. The only way I'm going to stop worrying is if I see that you're taking care of yourself and at the minute I'm not."

"I'm trying," Blaine's voice was strained.

"I know and I know it's hard. That's why you need to let us help you. Please, Blaine, I love you so much and I couldn't bear it if I lost you, any part of you." Kurt was crying now, unable to keep what he was feeling inside. He needed Blaine to know how important he was to him and that seeing him slowly falling apart was killing him.

Blaine brought his hand up to wipe the tears from his face, but Kurt could see that his own eyes were filling up too.

"Don't cry Kurt, please. You're breaking my heart," Blaine said as the tears spilled over.

"Then you know how I feel when I look at you," Kurt choked out and before he could react Blaine had thrown his arms around him and was sobbing into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Kurt. I'll try, I promise, just please don't give up on me." Kurt could just about hear what Blaine was saying. He brought his arms up and wrapped them around the love of his life.

"I will never give up on you Blaine, never."

The two of them stayed like that for awhile, and even after the tears dried they continued to cling to each other as though their lives depended on it.

Neither of them were aware of the fact that Carole and Burt both entered the room to check on them before leaving them alone. They were too lost in each other to care.

* * *

><p>Carole walked back into the kitchen and sighed.<p>

"I see what you mean," she said to Burt. "I didn't have the heart to interrupt them either".

"Told you so," Burt responded. "Just put those in the microwave when he's ready. I want to make sure he eats at least one of them."

"This is all just so heartbreaking," Carole said, sitting down at the counter next to her husband. He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips.

Their own tender moment was broken by the shrill ring of the phone. Burt leaped up to answer it, hoping it hadn't disturbed the boys in the other room.

Carole watched anxiously as he spoke to whoever it was on the other end, wondering when just a phone call became something that filled her with dread.

"Are you sure that's necessary?" Burt was saying into the receiver, frowning at whatever he heard. "Well if that's the case then we'll bring the boys in later," he paused while the person on the other end spoke. "No I don't think you understand. There are some things we need to do first and then we'll come," his voice firm as he spoke and he hung up the phone as soon as he was done.

"That was the police," Burt explained, although Carole had already guessed that much. "They've arrested those two..." Carole knew Burt didn't want to use the word "men", instead he said nothing. "They want the boys to go in and identify them."

"What?" Carole exclaimed. "Is that a good idea?"

"In my opinion, no," Burt shook his head. "But I guess it's not up to us."

"This is going to be very hard for them." Carole felt like that was a huge understatement.

"I know. That's why we're going to wait to tell them. Let them have some time together and then Blaine can eat some of those," as Burt pointed at the very tempting pancakes sitting on the side.

"Then we can rip their worlds apart again," Carole said, hugging her husband to her, feeling the same anguish he did.

Why couldn't the boys have one day to themselves, without having to deal with all of this?

* * *

><p>AN: Sorry it's short but I didn't want to squeeze the next bit in with this one. So a little bit of comfort before I go upsetting them all over again.


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: So back to the angst, not that we ever really left. There's some bad language and very offensive opinions in this one. Obviously not ones I share but not everybody is going to be nice and supportive.

Thanks once again to Rory46!

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty Four<p>

Burt kept shooting worried glances to the two boys sitting in the back of the car. Kurt and Blaine were side by side, holding hands, but both of them just sat staring out of the window.

They had waited until the boys had come back into the kitchen and Blaine had slowly eaten one of the pancakes Carole had made, before they'd told them about the coming trip to the police station. Kurt had protested but Blaine had just sat there. He looked a little paler than usual but otherwise showed no reaction.

Catching Carole's eye from where she sat next to him, he could see she shared his concerns.

"Look you two, we'll go in, do whatever it is the detectives want and then we'll be on our way home in no time." Burt tried to reassure the two of them, but neither boy responded and he gave up with a sigh.

Pulling into the parking lot he was relieved to see Natalie Anderson standing next to her car, waiting for them.

When he'd called her earlier and informed her about the new situation he had half been expecting her not to show up. He was glad that she had though. The boys were going to need all the support they could get to help them through the next couple of hours.

In fact, he was almost as worried about how he was going to handle it himself. Seeing two of the men that had brutalized his son and boyfriend, he wasn't sure whether he was going to be able to control his anger. He knew the last thing either of the boys needed right now was to see him lose his temper. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't subject them to any more violence. However, he knew that keeping that promise was going to be seriously difficult when faced with those monsters.

As soon as they climbed out of the car, Natalie came over and pulled Blaine into an embrace, but Burt could see the way he tensed up. Obviously Natalie felt it too as she soon let go and stepped back, a sad look on her face. It made Burt sad, and a little angry, that Blaine was clearly so unused to physical affection from his own mother. That even in this situation, when he must really need it, it still felt uncomfortable to him.

"How are you Blaine?" Natalie was asking. "I was worried about you."

Not enough to call and ask though, Burt thought to himself.

"Did you sleep okay?" Natalie was still attempting to show concern.

"Not too bad," Blaine replied, ignoring the look that Kurt gave him.

"Oh that's good," Natalie smiled in relief, only too willing to accept the lie. "I called your father last night."

Jesus H. Christ, didn't this woman know the meaning of the words, time and place? This was definitely a topic of conversation that could have waited until after the hell Blaine was about to face.

"Did you tell him what happened?" Kurt asked when Blaine remained silent. He looked at him with concern noting how he was even paler, if that was possible, than earlier.

"No, I didn't think it would be appropriate to tell him something like that over the phone. Obviously this is a delicate matter and no one deserves to have such a thing just blurted to them carelessly." Well that was subtle. Kurt just narrowed his eyes slightly in response and Burt was proud of him for keeping his mouth shut.

"I did tell him that the situation is a little more serious than Blaine led us to believe. He's going to try to finish up his business a little early so he can get back sooner and help me deal with all of this."

Burt was amazed by the fact that in a few short sentences Natalie had managed to make him dislike her all over again. He wondered how Blaine was able to cope with having this woman as his mother. Between digs at Kurt and her own son and the insensitive way she was talking about something so earth- shattering as though it was merely an inconvenience, he was finding it hard to resist the urge to throttle the woman.

He took a deep breath, a really deep one. None of this was helping him with his promise.

"Shall we go and get this dealt with?" Carole asked, breaking the tension.

Burt nodded and followed Kurt and Blaine as they walked across the parking lot towards the building. He saw Kurt reach for Blaine's hand again but frowned when he noticed Blaine shake his head and actually move slightly further away from the other boy. Kurt looked at his father over his shoulder, his face giving away his hurt and confusion. Burt could do nothing but shrug in response; he didn't know what that was about either.

* * *

><p>On entering the police station, Carole approached the front desk. They were directed to a corridor to sit and wait for Detective Davies to come and fetch them. Blaine and Kurt sat next to each other, close but not touching. She tried to give them a reassuring smile but her face wouldn't comply and it came out looking more like a grimace. Luckily neither boy seemed to notice, both too lost in their own concerns. Natalie sat on the other side of Blaine, nervously clutching her handbag. Burt took the seat next to Kurt and Carole sat down next to him. No one spoke, and nerves were getting the better of all of them.<p>

Voices drifted from around the corner and at first Carole ignored them, until she heard Detective Davies mentioned.

"I've never seen Davies lose his cool on an arrest before," a male voice was saying. " It was like he made it really personal."

Someone else chuckled and then replied, not very quietly.

"You never know, maybe for him it is. All this time, maybe he's secretly been playing for the other team."

"No, I think it's because of the nature of the crime," the first guy argued. "I don't know much but I heard it was really brutal."

Carole was aware that she wasn't the only one listening, In fact, the only person who seemed oblivious was Natalie. She was too busy checking her phone messages.

"I don't get what the big deal is," the second guy spoke again. "From what I heard, the kid's a fag anyway."

Carole felt Burt tense up beside her. She put her hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down, but she could still feel the how tightly he was clenching his hand.

The second guy carried on talking.

"For all we know it was a bit of fun that got out of hand. I mean you know what these fags are like. Any opportunity for a stiff cock up their ass and they jump at the chance."

Carole didn't know whether it was the words themselves or look of utter devastation that they caused to appear on Blaine's face, but that's when her husband lost it.

He was on his feet and out of sight before she could think to stop him. She was going to tell the two boys to stay where they were but one look at their shocked faces told her it wasn't necessary. Natalie just looked confused.

In the brief moment that Burt was out of her sight he had managed to pin a uniformed police officer to the wall by his throat. For the first time in her life, Carole was not only scared for her husband, but also of him. She'd never seen him so angry and she was genuinely concerned that he might take this too far. All the rage that he'd been struggling so hard to keep under control the last few days had finally found an outlet. The man that was pinned to the wall was starting to turn purple as his fingers grasped at Burt's vise-like grip.

"Sir, please let go of him," another uniformed officer was saying, but Carole thought it was interesting that so far he'd made no move to intervene physically.

"You don't know those boys," Burt was snarling. "Nobody deserves what happened to Blaine, nobody."

"Sir, I understand that you're angry," the other officer was still trying to calm Burt down. "But this is no way to handle it. Robins is an idiot."

"I want a fucking apology from this piece of scum. I want him to walk around that corner and face the boy he was so quick to judge. I want him to look him in the eye and then try and tell me again that he wanted any of this fucking nightmare to happen."

"Burt," Carole said the word quietly but something about her voice seemed to get through to him. At that one word his shoulders sagged and his hand let go of Officer Robins. The other man slid down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He had his hands at his throat and he was taking great gulps of air.

Carole put her arm around a shaking Burt. The other officer just stood there, making no effort to help his colleague up.

"I'll have you charged for that," Robins was saying. "You can't just assault an officer of the law."

"I can if he's a homophobic jackass," Burt snapped back.

"What the hell is going on here?" Detective Davies asked as he walked around the corner into the middle of it all.

"That man attacked me," Robins said from where he was still sitting on the floor.

"What?" Davies exclaimed. Carole was expecting him to question Burt at that point, but he clearly knew Robins already. "Why would he do that? What did you do?"

"Nothing. I just..." He started to stammer.

"Robins made some very insensitive comments about your current case and unfortunately for him he was overheard." The other officer clearly had no love for his fellow worker. Robins shot him a glare but he ignored it.

"Really?" Davies sounded weary and Carole had a feeling that this wasn't much of a surprise to him.

"Well I just..." Robins didn't know how to defend himself.

"How about we forget this ever happened? Mr. Hummel, I'm sure that you have enough on your plate at the minute without adding this to the pile and Robins, why don't you show a little sensitivity for once and let this go, unless you want to face a disciplinary hearing about your comments."

"As long as that man has nothing to do with this case then I'll agree to that," Burt spoke up.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hummel. That's a given," Davies reassured him.

"Fine," Robins said, climbing back to his feet. Carole thought he sounded like a petulant child. He stormed off down the corridor.

"I really am sorry for what he said Mr. Hummel," the other officer apologized. "What he said, he's the only one who thinks that."

"If only that were true," Burt replied sadly. Carole knew what he meant. Just because most of the people they'd come across so far had been sympathetic didn't mean there wouldn't be plenty of people out there who would share Robins' views. She just wished that the boys could have had a bit more time to heal before having to deal with that. She knew they must have heard every word and she was impressed by the fact that Kurt hadn't come running to his father's side.

She should have realized that Blaine was the only reason that Kurt wouldn't rush to his father's side. It must kill him to have to choose between the two men he loved. He caught her eye as she walked back around the corner and she knew that he had trusted her to look after his father. She knew what a huge deal that was for him and she nodded to let him know how much she appreciated it.

All the while Kurt had his arm wrapped around Blaine and was whispering comforting words into his ear. Natalie just stood there looking at the pair of them, lost. Carole resented the look of relief that crossed the other woman's face when she saw them. Once again she was expecting them to fix this so she didn't have to.

"Okay, I think it might be best if I give you guys a few minutes," Davies said taking into account everyone's appearance. "I'll come back and get you in a short while. Let's get this over with as soon as we can, shall we?"

Carole watched him walk away and sat down to offer comfort where she could.

As much as she found herself liking the detective, she dreaded the moment he would return.

* * *

><p>AN: So next chapter the ID. I plan on doing a little research to make sure it's somewhat realistic but it's a fanfic at the end of the day so I'm going to exercise my right to be creative. See you next time.

Also on a personal note I had my dating scan today (sooner then planned) and as it's all okay I can let the cat out of the bag. So for those of you who didn't already know I'm pregnant, due 28th February (it's a leap year next year so that could be interesting). So hopefully that explains some of my whinging about feeling tired.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: So thankyou everyone who reviewed and offered congratulations. I don't know how true to life this will be, or even if they'd have the boys do this at all but it's my story so what the hell.

Also thanks once again to Rory46, without who this chapter would have had a huge glaring error.

Don't own em

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><p>Chapter Thirty Five<p>

Kurt stood in front of the window. He knew that the people on the other side couldn't see him, but that didn't stop him from being nervous. He'd spotted the man from the alley as soon as he'd entered the room but he had to wait while standard procedure was carried out. Each of the men stepped forward and then turned left, then right.

Kurt realized that he didn't know which of the men he was going to see this morning had raped Blaine, or even if god forbid, they both had. Thinking back to when Blaine had first told them, he knew that the word "they" that Blaine had used implied that more than one of the men had been involved. There was still so much that he didn't know about that night and while he didn't want to force Blaine into talking about anything he wasn't ready for there was so much he needed to know.

He found himself searching the man's face for some clue as to what he'd done that night, just how much of the suffering both he and Blaine had had to endure was because of this man.

"Do you see the man who attacked you?" Detective Davies asked, once all the men had returned to their place in line.

"Number two," Kurt didn't hesitate, although his voice shook slightly, to his own annoyance. He hated that this man had the power to make him afraid. Despite his determination to not let any of this get to him he was feeling less than brave right now.  
>His dad put a reassuring hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Kurt gave him a small grateful smile in response.<p>

"Are you sure?" Davies asked.

"Positive," Kurt replied, his voice sounding a lot steadier that time.

"Thank you, Kurt," Davies leaned forward and activated the intercom that allowed him to be heard in the other room.

"Thank you. You can bring the next group in now," he said.

The five men filed out.

Kurt didn't know how he was going to react to seeing the next man, but he definitely wasn't expecting the burning hot rage that flooded through him. This was the man who had pinned Blaine to the wall, the man Kurt had seen groping his boyfriend and kissing him. There was no doubt in his mind that he was the one who'd hurt Blaine so badly. Seeing him standing there with a smug smile, Kurt felt an overwhelming urge to leap through the window so he could wipe it off his face.

Perhaps most shocking to Kurt was how normal the man looked. In his nightmares he'd become something other than human, something feral and monstrous, but in reality he looked no different than the four innocent men who stood on either side of him.

They went through the same routine as before, only this time it wasn't fear that caused Kurt's voice to shake, it was anger.

"Number four," he said through gritted teeth. He felt, rather than saw, his father and Carole staring intently at the man he'd just identified and realized they too were trying to see the monster that was hidden beneath such a normal exterior.

Davies once again asked him to confirm it and Kurt answered a little more hotly this time.

"That's him, number four."

Davies just nodded before once again using the intercom to tell the officers to take the men from the room.

"Thank you, Kurt, you did an amazing job just then," Davies spoke once the other room was empty. Kurt hadn't taken his eyes of the man until the door had firmly shut behind him but now he turned to the detective in charge of his and Blaine's case.

"What happens now?"

"Well, we need Blaine to confirm the identification and then we'll begin questioning them. Hopefully they'll tell us who the third assailant was."

Kurt swallowed around the lump in his throat at the thought of one of those men still being out on the streets.

"I'll go get Blaine," Burt said, starting to head for the door.

"Sorry, Mr. Hummel, I should have mentioned it before, but none of you can speak to Blaine until after he's been through this as well. We can't risk the chance of being accused of tampering with the identification process."

"But that means he'll have to do this with just his mother, " Burt started to protest.

"Yes, Mr. Hummel, it's official procedure." Davies clearly didn't know why that would be something that any of them would see as a problem.

"If we'd known before, you could have stayed with Blaine, Dad," Kurt said sadly, but he felt guilty because a part of him was pleased that that hadn't happened. As much as he knew Blaine needed his dad's support, Kurt still needed it too.

"No, you're my son, Kurt, I would have wanted to come in with you regardless. But I just hope Natalie realizes how bad this could be for Blaine."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Carole tried to reassure them both. "She may be a bit clueless, but even she must know how big a deal this is."

Kurt just had to hope Carole was right because there was nothing they could do about it now.

* * *

><p>Blaine was confused at first when Detective Davies came and fetched him and his mother and led them to the otherwise empty room. He thought at least Burt would have been waiting for him. Detective Davies explained that no one could be present for the identification twice, other than official people obviously, and Blaine understood at once. Of course Burt would choose to be with his own son through this; Blaine would have expected nothing less. Still he couldn't help wishing that wasn't the case.<p>

Natalie stood next to him, nervously picking at her fingernails. He caught her eye and gave her a small smile which she returned gratefully.

"Are you ready Blaine?" Davies asked, and Blaine found himself slightly resenting the gentle way the other man said it.

He pulled his shoulders back and stood a little straighter before replying. "Go for it."

Five men filed into the room and Blaine made a point of not looking until they were all in line. He saw the man who had hurt Kurt immediately. He waited while the men went through the motions of the line up but he never took his eyes of the man responsible for almost putting Kurt into a coma. He was surprised at how nervous the man looked. If he didn't know what he'd done he might even feel sorry for him, but he did and so of course, he couldn't.

When Davies asked him to identify the man he did so without hesitation.

"Is that the man who..," Natalie trailed off, obviously unable to finish the question.

"No, he's the one who hurt Kurt," Blaine told her and she nodded in relief.

"This is all just so horrible," Natalie spoke again and Blaine offered her his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Distracted by his mother, he didn't notice that the five men had left the room and been replaced by five new ones. Not until Davies drew his attention to it.

"Just one more, Blaine. Do you see the man who attacked you?"

Blaine swung his head around in shock to see five new faces staring back at him. He saw him at once and he felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over him.

"Number five," he gasped out in shock. He felt his knees turn to jelly and was surprised that they were still keeping him upright. He grasped his mom's hand tighter in his and heard her cry out in pain but he didn't let go, he couldn't.

"Are you sure Blaine?" Davies asked and all Blaine could do was nod. Seeing how distressed he was, Davies quickly spoke into the intercom, telling the officers in the room that they could take the men out.

Blaine couldn't take his eyes of the man. He watched him turn to the right and follow the other men out of the room, and that's why when he turned his face back towards what must look like a mirror to him, Blaine saw it. He saw the sadistic gleam in the man's eyes and when he puckered up his lips and blew a kiss at the window, that was when Blaine's knees finally gave out on him. He sank to the floor sobbing and his mother went with him. She cradled his head against her chest and for once he didn't pull away.

"Get that scum out of there right now," Davies practically screamed into the intercom.

"It's okay, baby, they've got him, he can't hurt you anymore." His mom was speaking reassuring words into his ear while running her hand through the soft curls on top of his head.

If only that was true, Blaine couldn't help thinking, if only it was that easy. But what that man had done was going to hurt him every day for the rest of his life. Hopefully, he would go to prison for this, but even then one day he would get out, be a free man again, free to live his life any way he chose. Blaine didn't have that luxury. He was never going to be able to walk away from this. He was going to be a prisoner to it for the rest of his life.

* * *

><p>AN: The men were in a different order for each line up, in case you wondered if I got the numbers wrong.


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: Wow look at this it's like the good old days, I feel like I'm on a roll, best not jinx it though. Anyway hope you like this one, it was a lot easier to write than the last so I hope that translates to the reading of it.

Thanks once again to the wonderful Rory46 without who this story would be a lot worse and take a lot longer. Oh and join me in being jealous of her because she has tickets to see Darren on Broadway.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty Six<p>

Burt knew the second that Davies came and fetched them that things hadn't gone well. He didn't need to say anything, the grim look on his face as he beckoned them back to the room told him everything he needed to know. Still he wasn't expecting it to be as bad as it was. Blaine was on the floor propped up against his mother. His face was buried in her chest and by the way his shoulders were heaving, they could see that he was crying.

Kurt almost pushed him out of the way in his haste to get to his boyfriend. Ignoring all his various injuries, he threw himself on the ground next to the pair of them and placed a hand on the distraught boy's shoulder.

"Hey Blaine, it's Kurt. Are you okay?" On hearing those words, Blaine let go of his mother and turned to Kurt. For a second they could see the tears running down his face before he buried his head into Kurt's shoulder. Burt could see that Natalie was a little put out at being discarded in such a way, but he decided he didn't really care. He did however offer her a hand to help her up off the floor. As soon as she was standing she began brushing her skirt down.

"What the hell happened?" Burt asked, and it was Davies who answered.

"The last suspect blew a kiss at the window as he left the room. Blaine didn't take it well." Burt closed his eyes and shook his head at the information. Poor kid, as though this wasn't hard enough to deal with.

"How did he even know to do that?" Burt asked. " I thought they couldn't see through that damn glass."

"They can't, the guy is just an asshole," Davies replied, and while it might not have been very professional of him, Burt appreciated the comment none the less. It was nice to know this guy was on their side. "Obviously this whole thing is very traumatizing, and I'm sorry Blaine had to go through that on top of everything else," Davies said, echoing his own thoughts from earlier.

"In fact, I've been meaning to mention we have an excellent psychologist that deals with these sorts of cases, and I can give you her number if you like. I think the boys could use someone to talk to about all of this."

Burt found himself nodding; he'd been thinking about something along those lines himself.

"I'd really appreciate that," he said to the detective.

"Good, good," Davies seemed very pleased that his suggestion had been taken well.

"What about you Mrs. Anderson, would you like the number as well?"

"Oh, I'm not sure. My husband usually makes those sorts of decisions, and I don't know if he'd approve," Natalie replied. She didn't look at them as she spoke, instead alternating between giving her son worried glances and Kurt resentful ones. Burt barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the woman, and glancing over at Carole, he saw that she was unable to resist the urge herself.

"You don't think he'd approve of his son getting some help?" Davies asked frowning, only now seeming to realize what kind of woman he was dealing with.

"My husband's a firm believer in learning to cope with things yourself. He says that's what makes you strong." Natalie's tone was a little defensive and Burt wondered if it was because she felt the need to defend her husband's beliefs or whether it was because deep down she knew how ridiculous they were.

"Well, this is a very big deal, Mrs. Anderson," Davies said and Burt could detect a hint of anger in his voice. "There's no shame in asking for help. Some things are too big to handle on your own."

While they'd been talking, Blaine had calmed down. He was now getting up and helping a slightly bewildered Kurt to his feet. Burt could see why Kurt would be confused. A moment ago, his boyfriend was a sobbing mess on the floor, desperately in need of some comfort, and now he looked like nothing had happened. He hoped that Natalie's words hadn't affected him, but it sure looked that way.

"I'll get you both the number anyway. Hopefully once you've spoken to your husband, you'll give her a call." Davies left the room.

"I think it might be best if we got going, Blaine," Natalie said after a few minutes of silence.

"Okay," Blaine said. All the fight seemed to have gone out him.

"Don't you want to come back to our house?" Kurt asked, and Burt could tell his son was slightly panicked at the thought of not seeing Blaine.

Blaine looked between his mom and Kurt, both of them with the same pleading look on their faces, and Burt knew Blaine wouldn't be able to make a decision that would hurt either of them.

"Well, your car is at our house, Blaine, so why don't you come back with us, have some lunch, and then you could drive it home this afternoon?" He shot Kurt a look as he spoke, letting him know that he didn't want to fight him on this one, he should take what he could get.

"Yeah, okay," Blaine still seemed a little dazed. "Is that okay, mom?"

Natalie sighed and nodded, knowing that she needed to accept the compromise.

"Yes, that's fine, Blaine. Are you sure you're okay though?" Burt was surprised that she even remembered that Blaine had been so upset a moment before.

"Yeah, I'm fine, it was just a bit of a shock, that's all."

Burt could see Natalie looking at Blaine intently for a few seconds before she seemed satisfied that he was telling the truth. Burt wasn't so sure. He had a feeling that this was yet another example of Blaine wearing a mask, playing the part and saying what he knew she wanted to hear.

"Why don't you two boys head out to the car while we wait for Detective Davies to get us that number," Carole suggested, and Burt knew she wanted to speak to Natalie without Blaine there.

"Okay," Kurt nodded, but Burt caught the raised eyebrow he sent his stepmom and knew that Kurt knew there was a hidden agenda there. Blaine seemed oblivious.

Burt watched as the boys left the room, noticing that Kurt was limping a little. He would make sure that he hadn't pulled any stitches by getting down on the floor with Blaine like that later.

"There are a couple of things we've noticed with Blaine the last few days, Natalie, and I thought it probably best that you know about them," Carole began as soon as the boys were out of earshot.

"What kind of things?" Natalie asked, actually looking worried.

"Well, he's not been eating for one thing," Burt began. "It turns out he was worried about something and while I managed to get it out of him, I don't want to betray his trust by repeating it without his knowledge. Just make sure he eats something, please."

Natalie looked like she was about to say something in response, but at the last minute she shut her mouth and just nodded. Burt could see that she was slightly annoyed at him.

"I don't know if he's been taking his medication either and he's definitely not sleeping very well," Carole spoke next.

"He told me he slept fine last night," Natalie protested.

"Well, he lied," Burt spoke bluntly.

"I don't think Blaine is dealing with this as well as he'd like you to think. I'm not trying to tell you what to do Natalie, but we've noticed these things and they worry us. I think talking to a psychologist would be a very good idea. He needs to talk to someone who isn't going to be upset by what he tells them, someone impartial, so please at least consider it," Carole finished.

Natalie didn't answer, but when Davies entered the room a few minutes later she took one of the cards and put in her purse without comment.

Kurt watched Blaine carefully as they made their way out of the police station and across the parking lot.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling?" he asked Blaine nervously as they leaned against the car next to each other; it was just too stuffy to sit in the car and wait. He hated this, he hated the fact that he had to tread on eggshells around Blaine. He'd always been the one person he felt like he didn't have to worry what he said to. Everything was different now.<p>

"I don't know," Blaine answered with a sigh. Kurt went to take his hand in his to offer some support, but Blaine pulled away.

"Why won't you hold my hand?" Kurt couldn't help the question, but he felt bad when he heard Blaine's sharp intake of breath.

"I want to, Kurt," Blaine said turning sad eyes on him. "I'm just..." he looked away as though ashamed to face him as he said the next part. "I'm afraid, Kurt."

Kurt felt his heart clench. Of course, why hadn't he seen it before? Blaine had been fine with holding his hand in private, had seemed to seek it out in fact, but in public, well that was a whole other thing. Because the last time they had held hands in public was when this whole nightmare had begun.

"Oh Blaine, I'm so sorry. I didn't think," Kurt said.

"No," Blaine shook his head almost violently. "You don't have to keep apologizing for my stupid fears."

"It's not stupid, Blaine. I understand completely. I don't think you need to scared, but I can see why you are."

"I hate this so much, Kurt," Blaine had tears in his eyes again, but he swiped them away angrily. "I hate that I've become this weak, pathetic thing. I hate that you have to see me like this."

Kurt just wanted to take Blaine in his arms then, but he didn't want to push things. Instead he slowly reached down and took Blaine's hand in his. The whole time he kept his eyes on Blaine's face, making sure it was okay, that he was okay. Blaine eyes flashed with fear at first and he quickly shot his eyes around the parking lot, as if checking to see who was watching.

Kurt knew that there were a couple of people around, but no one was paying any attention to them. Kurt threaded his fingers through Blaine's so that they were intertwined and he felt Blaine first tense and then relax.

"Thank you," he said quietly, looking down at their intertwined fingers with a small smile.

"No, thank you," Blaine responded with a small smile of his own.

Even when their parents showed up they didn't let go. It was kind of awkward getting into the car with only one free hand, but as long as Blaine was willing to hold his hand, then Kurt wasn't going to let go.

* * *

><p>AN: So I'm a lot happier with this one, I hope you are too. You'll be happy to hear that I have the next few chapters already mapped out so hopefully there won't be as long between updates for a while. And I know some of you are wondering if and when Blaine's dad is going to appear, don't worry he's on his way. Although if I was you I wouldn't look forward to him too much. Timeline wise he should be with us tomorrow but of course in this fic that's a few chapters from now. You know how I love to drag things out. I've got lots of things planned for the next few chapters though.


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Bit of a filler this one, but I'm setting up some stuff for the next chapter. Also I know it seems like one step forward, two steps back with Blaine but I really think that's where his head is at the minute.

Thanks to Rory46

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty Seven<p>

When they walked into the kitchen, Kurt was surprised to see Finn sitting at the kitchen counter.  
>"Hi guys, how did it go?" he asked around a mouthful of sandwich.<p>

"Don't ask," Kurt said, picking his phone up off the counter where he'd left it earlier.

"That bad, huh?" Finn raised his eyebrows.

"_Worse_," Blaine said, sinking into one of the chairs with a sigh.

"So what do you want to eat, Blaine?" Carole asked, opening the fridge and peering in.

"I don't..."

"Don't even think about it, Blaine." Burt cut him off before he could finish his sentence. "You're having something to eat."

"I was going to say I don't mind," Blaine responded.

"Oh..." Burt said. "Well, good then. How about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?"

"I love peanut butter and jelly," Kurt said, noticing Blaine's eyes light up slightly at the thought. His dad was good… offering most people's childhood favorite was a genius move.

"Okay, then," Carole said grabbing some ingredients out of the fridge.

"Holy crap," Kurt said, looking at his phone.

"What is it?" Burt asked, taking a seat next to him and picking up the paper from where Finn had left it on the counter.

"I have thirty- seven missed calls from Mercedes on my phone."

"Well then, I suggest you call her. Now." Burt chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go do that," Kurt said. "Do you mind?" he asked Blaine before he left the kitchen.

"Of course not," Blaine replied.

Kurt walked out into the hallway before calling Mercedes. He was actually a little nervous, which was just ridiculous when he stopped to think about it.

Mercedes answered on the first ring. "About time, I've been worried sick," she sounded angry.

"I'm sorry. _It's just been kind of_ _hard_..." Kurt started to explain himself, surprised at how weary his voice sounded. Clearly Mercedes heard it as well, because her next words were a lot gentler.

"How are you, Kurt?"

"I don't know," Kurt admitted, leaning his head against the wall as he spoke into his cell phone.

"Talk to me," Mercedes offered and Kurt suddenly realized how much he needed to hear that.

* * *

><p>Finn watched as Blaine took small bites out of his sandwich, and glancing around, he could see his mom and Burt doing exactly the same thing. Blaine looked up and they all looked away in the most suspicious way possible.<p>

"So, how is Rachel?" Carole asked, trying to draw attention away from their spying.

"Okay," Finn was non-committal in his reply and his mom raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know Rachel," he said by way of explanation and his mom smiled in acknowledgment.

"She sends her love by the way, Blaine. This whole thing has really shaken her up, I think. She said to tell you that if you need anything, you have her number."

Finn continued to tuck into his sandwich, completely oblivious to the fact that Blaine had stopped eating his and was staring at him intently.

"Why would she do that?" Finn did, however, notice the anger in Blaine's voice. He looked up and over at the other boy then and realized his mistake. "What _exactly_ does she know?" Blaine had yet to raise his voice but everyone was now looking at him with concern at the way he was speaking.

"Um, well... I thought you knew...I thought Kurt told you...," Finn saw the hurt flash in Blaine's eyes at Kurt's name.

"Kurt didn't tell me anything... so why don't _you_?" Finn had never seen this side of Blaine before and he found him a little scary in his intensity.

Finn looked around at both his mom and Burt, but from the looks on their faces he knew there was no going back now. Unfortunately for everyone, Kurt chose that particular moment to come back into the room.

"I hope no one minds, but I told Mercedes she could come over this afternoon. Well maybe not so much told her but just accepted the fact that she's coming anyway," Kurt spoke, unaware of the tension in the room.

"_Does she know, too?_" Blaine stood up now and Kurt's eyes widened in shock at the angry words.

"What...?"

"Does she know what happened? Is that why she's coming over, to find out all the juicy details?"

"Mercedes isn't like that!" Kurt tried to defend his friend.

"But she knows, _right_?" Finn could see that Blaine was trembling slightly and Kurt looked like someone had punched him in the stomach, all the wind had been knocked from him. He felt bad because this was all his fault. He needed to learn to keep his damn mouth shut.

"They all know," Finn said quietly.

"_What_?" Blaine's voice went almost as high as Kurt's did when he was upset.

"At the meeting yesterday a few things were said and I ended up having to explain everything," Finn admitted guiltily.

"So you all just sat around having a good old gossip session about me- is that what you're saying, talking about me behind my back?"

Finn realized that this was the most he'd heard Blaine say in days, and he just wished it wasn't happening like this. That the thing that finally prompted Blaine to open up wasn't something that _he'd_ caused. He cursed himself again.

"I'm sure it wasn't like that, Blaine," Burt tried to calm the situation down. "They're your friends, they're worried about you."

"They aren't my friends," Blaine responded coldly.

"Of course they are," Kurt said.

"No, Kurt, they're _your_ friends. They barely even know me. They don't care about me."

Finn could tell that Kurt didn't know how to respond to that, because Blaine was kind of right, not about them not caring but about them not really knowing him.

"Blaine, you're right. Most of them don't know you, but you're wrong about them not caring. I saw them yesterday, they were really upset," Finn tried to explain.

Blaine just stood there shaking his head in denial. Then he seemed to remember something else because he turned on Kurt again.

"_You knew they knew?_" he asked his boyfriend, the hurt evident in his voice. Kurt just nodded, tears clearly evident in his eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm so sorry, Blaine. I was going to though, I promise. It's just after this morning, I didn't want to upset you anymore. Look, I'll call Mercedes back, tell her not come if you want," Kurt offered.

Blaine shook his head. "No, don't do that. It's fine. I won't be here anyway."

"Don't be like that, Blaine," Kurt pleaded. "I'm so sorry. Don't leave because you're angry with me."

"I'm not angry at you," Blaine walked over to where Kurt was standing. "I'm just angry...and really tired." He raised a hand and wiped the tear that had escaped Kurt's eye and was making its way down his cheek. "I think it would be best if I went home for a while. Got some sleep, in my own bed. Maybe I'll rest better there."

"But I want you to stay," Kurt sounded a little bit like a petulant child now, but Finn knew how much he needed Blaine, how much they both needed each other. He knew Blaine knew that too, deep down.

"I know you do," Blaine was saying. "But I really don't want to have to deal with Mercedes right now, and I don't think I can face her, knowing she knows."

"I already said I would call her and tell her not to come over," Kurt tried to argue.

"No. It'll be good for you to have someone to talk to, you need that."

"What about you Blaine, don't you need that, too?" Kurt asked sadly.

Blaine just shrugged and gave him a small smile.

"Please don't leave, Blaine," Kurt tried one more time to plead with his boyfriend.

"I have to, Kurt. Please don't make me feel bad about this. I'll call you later." He leaned in to give Kurt a kiss on the cheek and with one sad wave at the rest of them, he was gone.

"Blaine...," Kurt started to follow him.

"No, Kurt, let him go," Burt stopped him with a hand on the shoulder.

"But I'm worried about him, especially after this morning. I don't think he should be on his own." Kurt tried to make them all see where he was coming from.

"I know, but maybe that's exactly what Blaine needs right now. We keep telling him he needs to take care of himself. At some point, we've got to trust him to do that."

Kurt just looked at him blankly before sinking down into one of the seats with a sigh.

"Well, I hope you're right, Dad," he said. Finn saw the look that passed between his mom and Burt, and was glad that Kurt didn't. Seeing the doubt in their eyes wasn't going to help him at all. Finn pushed his own half-eaten sandwich away. Guilt had taken away his appetite.

* * *

><p>AN: So we're going to see a couple of New Directions in the next chapter, hope you're still sticking with me.


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Hi again, first off thanks again to all my lovely reviewers for making me feel like I'm not losing you all, in case you hadn't noticed I tend to doubt myself a lot. So here's the next chapter, I hope you like it. The first part was actually going to be at the end of the last chapter but I decided I couldn't be cruel enough to leave you with a cliff hanger like that.

Thanks again to Rory46 for everything you do.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty Eight<p>

Blaine grasped the steering wheel tightly, his fingers digging into the leather so hard his knuckles turned white.

_They knew_. He couldn't believe they all knew. Even his own friends didn't know yet, hell his own father didn't know. No, he wasn't going to think about that, he was freaking out enough. He wondered what they were saying about him, how disgusted they all were. He knew they weren't bad people but he didn't want them to know. _He didn't want anyone to know_. Every day this was spiraling more out of his control. The more people who knew, the harder it was going to be for him to get back to normal. How could he even pretend he was okay if they were all looking at him with knowing eyes?

What were they thinking about him? What if some of them thought that he'd _wanted_ it, like that police officer at the station earlier? Thinking about the police station only led to him thinking about what had happened during the ID. The man's face flashed up in front of his eyes again, the smirk just before he'd blown that damn kiss. Those lips seemed to loom large in his mind's eye because he knew what those lips felt like that, what they tasted like. _He knew what that_ _man tasted like_. He started to gag.

Luckily, he was able to pull his car over to the side of the road and stumble away from it before the urge to vomit overcame him. He leaned on the rough stone of an old bridge as he brought up what little he'd eaten that day. He watched as the digesting liquid fell away to disappear into the fast running stream below. Once his stomach was empty, he sagged against the stone work, taking shallow breaths, all his injured ribs would allow. The water below was mesmerizing and he slowly climbed up until he was sitting on the bridge. He watched the water far below between the gaps in his legs. It looked very peaceful down there.

* * *

><p>The first thing Kurt noticed was how nervous Mercedes looked. It wasn't something he saw very often from the usually strong girl, and it made him sad to think yet another person had been affected by all this.<p>

"How are you?" she asked nervously as she followed him into the den.

Kurt was going to say the usual lie of "I'm okay," but for some reason when he went to speak, the words wouldn't come. They got trapped behind the huge lump in his throat and he was embarrassed to realize his eyes were filling up with tears.

Mercedes took one look at his face and whatever nervousness she was feeling went out the window as she quickly pulled her friend into her arms. Kurt didn't even resist, just buried his face in her shoulder and sobbed.

"Oh, boo," she said sadly, rubbing his back gently. After a while Kurt got himself back under control and pulled away from her. He wiped at his eyes with his shirt sleeve before giving her a small grateful smile.

"I should have come sooner. I'm so sorry, Kurt." Mercedes sat next to him on the couch, close enough to touch.

"No, no, it's okay," Kurt reassured her. He knew how much Mercedes cared, and that she'd only stayed away because she hadn't wanted to crowd him.

"So I'll ask again. How are you?"

Kurt took a deep sigh. "Not good," he admitted, "but it's Blaine I'm most worried about."

"Where is Blaine? I though he was practically living here now?" Mercedes was looking around as if expecting Blaine to be somewhere in the room.

"He left when he found out you were coming over," Kurt said without thinking.

"Oh, no- I didn't scare him away did I?" Mercedes looked horrified.

"No...no…well, _not really_," Kurt was quick to say. "He found out that Finn told you guys and he kind of freaked out a little bit. I think he's scared about what people think."

"But all of us just feel really bad for him," Mercedes frowned in confusion.

"I know, but he's so messed up right now, I don't think he can see that." Kurt felt tears coming to his eyes again at the thought of how much Blaine was having to deal with. "He said he just wanted to go home and sleep, so..."

"Do you want me to call him?" Mercedes offered.

"No, I think that would just freak him out. I'll give him a few hours and if he hasn't called I'll call him. I just hope my dad's right, because if anything happens, I'll never forgive myself."

* * *

><p>Sam wasn't in any kind of rush. He peddled his bike along lazily. It was just so nice to get out of that cramped hotel room. He loved his family, but there was only so much time you could spend cooped up together in such a small space before you started to grate on each others nerves. His parents had obviously picked up on his growing frustration, because they'd given him the afternoon off from babysitting his brother and sister, and that's how he found himself biking along this fairly quiet back road. The family could only afford to keep one car now, and that one just barely, but his mom had made sure that he kept his old ten speed bike and he'd never been more grateful for that than right now.<p>

He was leaning back on his seat looking up at the sky and that's why he didn't see the figure sitting on the bridge until he was almost next to him. He wobbled a little on his bike before getting control back, and was tempted to keep on pedaling, despite how strange it was to see someone sitting on the stone bridge. It was then he realized _who_ it was and brought his bike to a stop with a screech of brakes.

Blaine looked up from where he was sitting, clearly startled by the noise. The fear in his eyes made Sam feel a surge of guilt.

"Hi, sorry if I scared you," he said, putting his hands up in a calming gesture, as though dealing with a wounded animal. He could see the panic in Blaine's eyes and the way he glanced back down at the water before looking back at Sam caused a sharp stab of fear to run through him. _Oh, Jesus_. What exactly was Blaine doing out here?

"How's it going?" he asked, instantly cringing at the question as the words fell out of his mouth. _Great, Sam, really good question…how damned insensitive could you get?_

"Absolutely _fantastic,_" Blaine's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Sam asked, already leaning his bike against the bridge.

Blaine looked surprised at the question before shrugging.

Sam slowly climbed onto the bridge next to Blaine, being very careful to not get too close and spook the other boy. He looked down at the water below before giving a low whistle.

"That's a _long_ way down," he said, watching for Blaine's reaction, but there wasn't one.

"I bet it would hurt if you fell." _Subtle, Sam_, he thought to himself, but at least this got a reaction from Blaine. He looked at Sam with surprise in his eyes.

"Look I know that what you're going through right now is awful, but this isn't the answer you know." He tried to get through to the other boy, but Blaine remained silent.

"I can't imagine how you feel, but you have a lot of people who care about you. This would kill them," Sam plowed on.

"_What… exactly… do you think I was planning on doing_?" Blaine asked the question slowly.

"Well you know...,"Sam trailed off gesturing at the water below.

What happened next shocked him to the core. _Blaine started laughing_.

"What?" Sam asked, not sure what was so funny about any of this.

"You thought I was going to _kill_ myself?" Blaine managed to gasp out.

"Well… yeah," Sam was slightly offended now.

"That's priceless," Blaine still seemed to think this was hilarious but Sam was worried that the other boy was a little hysterical.

"What was I supposed to think? Knowing what I know and seeing you out here all alone, what other possible conclusion was I supposed to come to?"

This seemed to sober Blaine up as he finally saw the scene through Sam's eyes.

"I just...I felt sick and this was where I stopped," he started to explain. "Then I realized how peaceful it was here and I just decided to try and soak some of it up." He turned to Sam then and looked him in the eye as he spoke his next words. "I wouldn't try to kill myself, no matter what, because then"… he sighed…"_those bastards win_."

Sam was shocked at the anger in those last words and he found himself at a loss for how to respond. They sat in silence for a few moments, unsure of the words that needed to follow.

"Thanks, I guess," Blaine spoke again after a few minutes.

"For what?"

"For caring enough to try to stop me." Blaine wasn't looking at him now, instead watching the water below again.

"I'd have to be a pretty shitty human being _not _to," Sam replied.

"Well, it turns out there's quite a few of them in the world."

"Well, I'm not one of them," said Sam. "I know we don't know each other very well, But Kurt helped me out when he found out about my family and he didn't know me that well, either. He did it because he's a good person. In fact, all of New Directions helped me out a lot. If you need anything Blaine, anything, just call, you'll be surprised how many of us care, if you'll just give us a chance."

Blaine looked up at him again at that moment and Sam couldn't quite read the look on his face, but it looked a little like relief.

Blaine cleared his throat. "I guess I better get going." He swung his legs around until his feet were hanging over the road again and Sam followed suit. As he stood up, he offered the shorter boy a hand and Blaine looked at it before meeting his eyes and grasping it tightly in his own. He pulled Blaine to his feet and didn't let go until he was sure he had both feet firmly on the ground.

"Thanks," Blaine said again, and Sam grinned at him. He waited until Blaine had climbed into his car and driven off with a small wave in his direction before getting back on his bike. He turned it around so that it was facing the other way and headed back in the direction of the motel. For some reason, he couldn't wait to get back and see his family.

* * *

><p>AN: So I hope you like who came along. Other members are going to make an appearance at some point and I haven't forgotten about Wes and David either.


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Thanks once again to all my lovely reviewers, Sam seemed very popular, someone did mention him when I asked who you wanted to see a while back but I forgot who sorry. So this is a bit short and a bit fillery but keep reading to the end.

Thanks one again to Rory46.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Thirty Nine<p>

As soon as Blaine put his key in the lock and opened the front door, his mom appeared from the kitchen.

"Hi, honey. I'm so glad you're home. Are you okay?" she asked, before he'd even closed the door behind him.

"Yeah mom, I'm fine" he said, giving her a small weary smile and while that wasn't strictly the truth, well it was a lot closer to it than it had been earlier, _before_ he'd seen Sam.

"I went to the store on the way home and picked up some snacks I know you like," his mom said, trying to lead him towards the kitchen.

"Thanks Mom, that's great," he replied, but made no move to follow her. "I think I might just go crash for a while upstairs though, after I take a shower."

He saw the way her smile faded at his words and immediately felt guilty for disappointing her.

She stood looking at him for a minute, uncertainty clear on her face before he saw a look from her that he wasn't used to seeing… _determination._

"You need to eat, Blaine. I'll bring you some milk and cookies up while you're in the shower, and you can eat them before you take a nap. You'll sleep better with something in your stomach."

Blaine was so unused to hearing that tone from his mom that all he could do was nod in agreement. Her smile came back.

"Then later I'll order Chinese. You used to love it when we did that when you were younger." She seemed like she was on a roll and Blaine didn't have the heart to stop her.

"Sounds good, Mom," he said, even though the thought of greasy food after so many days of _not _eating much made him feel a little nauseous again.

"Okay." She was clearly relieved that he hadn't put up a fight. "You go take your shower and I'll bring you something up." She turned to head towards the kitchen.

"Thanks, Mom," Blaine said before she turned away and he found that he really _meant _it. It was nice to know she actually cared.

His mom nodded and headed off to the kitchen.

Blaine trudged wearily up the stairs. Entering the familiar surroundings of his own bedroom, he grabbed some clothes to get changed into and entered his bathroom. He discarded his clothes on the floor and as usual, tried to ignore the marks on his body as he stepped under the scalding hot water of the shower. He scrubbed hard at his skin, again and again, until it was red and glowing, all the time wondering whether he would ever actually feel really clean again. Stepping out, he grabbed a towel and dried himself quickly. He put the sweatpants and hoodie he'd chosen on quickly, before he was even totally dry. He didn't like being naked anymore. He felt too exposed, too vulnerable. The mirror was fogged up, but he didn't bother to wipe it clean. He honestly liked the fact that he couldn't see himself very well in its surface. He ran the towel roughly over his curls until his hair was nearly dry. It felt fluffy after the rough treatment, but as long as it was clean, he didn't really care how it looked. Walking back into his room he saw that his mom must have been in while he was out because a plate of Oreos and a glass of milk sat on his desk. Knowing she would probably check on him,_ and_ resisting the urge to hide them somewhere, he managed to eat two of the cookies. His mouth felt dry. Whether it was from the act of eating them or the cookies themselves, he wasn't sure, so he drained the glass of milk. The cold liquid was actually very soothing to his still sore throat and he would have liked some more, but his bed was calling to him more.

He lay back on the bed, staring at the familiar marks on his ceiling, the same marks he had stared at for as long as he could remember, and he gradually let himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

><p>He came awake with a start a while later and was surprised to see that it was getting a little dark outside. He must have been asleep for quite a while and while he knew he hadn't slept completely soundly, none of his nightmares had been bad enough to wake him. He actually felt a little better and surprisingly hungry.<p>

His mom must have been in at some point because the cookies and empty glass had gone. He headed downstairs and found his mom sitting in the kitchen. He wondered how long she had been sitting there, picking at her nails.

"Did you sleep okay?" she asked as he came into the room.

"Yes," he said, glad he didn't have to lie for once.

"Good, I'm glad." She paused as if unsure whether to continue before speaking again. "Kurt called."

A flash of guilt shot through him when he realized that he'd forgotten to call his boyfriend, and Kurt was probably worried sick.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Kurt told me not to." Blaine smiled at the thought of his boyfriend telling his mom what to do, but he hid the smirk with his hand.

"I better call him." Blaine started to head for the hall where the phone was, since he wasn't even sure where his cell phone was anymore.

"Do you want me to order dinner?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah, sure," Blaine answered. "Whatever you want is fine with me." He was too eager to call Kurt to care about dinner right now.

The phone was answered on the first ring and Blaine had an image in his mind of Kurt sitting anxiously with it in hand waiting for him to call.

"Blaine?" Kurt's slightly breathless voice answered.

"Hi Kurt," he spoke softly into the receiver.

"Oh thank god, your mom said you were sleeping, but I thought maybe you were avoiding talking to me."

"Never, Kurt. I always want to hear your voice," Blaine leaned his head against the wall as he spoke.

"So did you have a good nap?" Kurt asked.

"Yes actually, really good. I...I'm sorry about earlier," Blaine apologized.

"It's okay, Blaine. I understand why you were upset." Kurt's voice was also soft and Blaine wondered if anyone was listening in on his end. He was almost positive _his_ mom was perched with her ear to the kitchen door.

"Well, I bumped into Sam and that helped."

"Sam? Where did you bump into Sam?" Kurt sounded confused.

"On a bridge," Blaine chuckled at how absurd that sounded. " Don't worry. I'll explain later."

"Well, good... -_what_?" Kurt started talking to someone in the background. "_I'm talking to Blaine_, _I'll be in in a minute_," he said, before continuing his conversation with Blaine again.

"Who was that?" Blaine asked before Kurt continued.

"Finn," Kurt replied. "He said '_hi'_ by the way. ..just letting me know dinner's ready but it can wait."

"No," Blaine protested. " You should go eat with your family."

"But I want to talk to _you,_" Kurt almost whined.

"Well you know how much I like talking to you too, but Mom just ordered dinner, so I should probably get going anyway."

"_So_… _you're eating_?" Kurt asked softly.

"_Yes, mom._" Blaine smiled at his boyfriend's comment.

"Well _someone _needs to be one." Blaine winced at the barbed words.

"She's trying," he said with a sigh.

"I just wish you were here," Kurt sounded so sad it brought a lump to Blaine's throat. He cleared it audibly before speaking again.

"I miss you too, more than you could know. Now go eat dinner, and I'll come over in the morning."

"Okay, take care Blaine. I love you." It didn't matter how many times Blaine heard Kurt say those words to him, they always had the same effect. His heart sped up, his hands got clammy, and warmth spread through his body.

"I love you, too," he said.

Even after Kurt had hung up he stood in the hall holding the phone, just smiling.

Eventually though, he made his way back into the kitchen where his mom was waiting.

The food arrived not long after and Blaine was pleased to see his mom had ordered a couple of his favorite dishes. He still didn't eat much but ate a lot more than he'd been able to manage in the past few days. Truth be told, he actually found himself enjoying it just a little.

He was just putting a second mouthful of Cantonese chicken into his mouth when he heard it… the unmistakable sound of the front door opening.

He looked up and met his mother's eyes and saw the same fear he was suddenly feeling reflected there.

A few minutes later, the kitchen door behind him swung open and Bill Anderson walked into the room.

* * *

><p>AN: So I was going to do a couple more things before Daddy came home but I decided I've kept you hanging long enough. See you all next time!


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: So here it is. Anyone wanting Bill to be a good guy brace yourself but I do have a reason for this, I promise it will work out for Blaine in the end. Plus have you read the rest of this story did you really think I was capable of writing him as nice and fluffy? I'm an angst whore through and through.

Also 40 chapters bloody hell, thanks for sticking with me for all this time.

Thanks Rory46

Don't own em, although I am considering going to see Glee Live 3D all on my lonesome next week. I don't know about Blaine but I need courage.

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><p>Chapter Forty<p>

Blaine put his fork down. The piece of chicken he had in his mouth suddenly tasted rancid and he only just managed to choke it down.

"I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow," Natalie said, getting up and going around the table to greet her husband.

Blaine still hadn't turned to face his father yet, using the meal in front of him as an excuse to stay where he was.

"Well, luckily I managed to wrap up the deal early and get a flight. Your calls were getting a little _distracting_." Blaine heard the unspoken reprimand in his father's voice and from her response, so did his mom.

"I'm sorry, it's just… I didn't know what to do." He hated when his mom sounded like a little girl who'd been chastised; it was something he heard a lot through the years when she was talking to his father.

"Well I still don't know what the big deal is… it's not like we haven't been through something similar before. I would have hoped you would have used that experience to deal with it _this_ _time_, Natalie." There was a pause and Blaine could feel his father's eyes boring into his back. He still couldn't bring himself to turn around though.

"Aren't you going to greet me Blaine? There's no excuse for bad manners."

Blaine sighed and closed his eyes for a split second before opening them again, he slowly stood up before turning to look at his father.

For a brief second, Blaine thought he saw a wince of sympathy before his usual look of cool indifference took over.

"Hello, Dad," he croaked out, his voice suddenly very dry.

"Is _that_ going to scar?" he asked, pointing to the still- healing cut on his forehead.

"I don't know," Blaine admitted.

"Well, let's hope not," Bill said, his eyes traveling over the rest of Blaine's visible injuries with a detached, assessing eye. "Well you don't seem to have any broken bones, so it's not even as bad as last time." He turned back to his wife, clearly irritated. "Really, Natalie, I don't see what's so important that I had to rush back. I'm sure you could have handled this yourself."

Blaine saw the way his mom paled at the words. She shot him a concerned look before attempting to defend herself.

"Bill, it was three grown men that...,"

Bill interrupted her before she could continue. "Yes, I knew that already," he said, turning back to Blaine now. "In fact, _that's_ something I've been meaning to ask you about. Why would three grown men attack you? I mean, I understand why those boys at school did, _they knew you_, _knew all about you."_

Blaine tried not to let his father's words sting, now having to hear him say that he understood why he'd been attacked before almost made it sound like he sympathized with the boys who had done that to him.

"But why would three strangers single you out? _What did you do to provoke them to do this_?" He raised his hand and gestured at Blaine's face almost flippantly.

Blaine was completely at a loss for words. How the hell was he supposed to answer that?

"Bill, honey," Natalie spoke up from the side where she'd almost been forgotten about. "This _wasn't_ Blaine's fault".

Blaine looked at his mother in shock. Up until this point, he hadn't been sure what she really thought about what had happened, whether she blamed him or not. Hearing her say those few words made him want to hug her, especially when she chose to say them in his defense to his father.

"Those men were sick and Blaine didn't deserve what happened to him." Natalie sounded on the verge of tears now and together with her choice of the word, "sick", Blaine cringed in anticipation. His father may have been many things, but one thing he wasn't was _stupid_.

"Sick..." he said, his eyes darting between the two of them. "_What do you...what exactly happened?_" His eyes were wide with dawning realization, but Blaine could see the anger burning there as well.

"Those men...they hurt Blaine really badly." Natalie was crying now, tears making their way down her face and ruining her carefully-applied make up.

"_What? Hurt…how_…?" Blaine knew his father wasn't this dumb, but he didn't seem to want to make the connection himself.

"They...,"Natalie trailed off when Bill put up a hand to stop her. "_No, I want to hear Blaine say it_".

Why? Blaine wanted to shout, what difference will it make? He shook his head slightly, he didn't know if he could. He didn't know if he was strong enough to look this father in the eye and tell him that everything he'd ever warned him about was true. That what he was made him _weak_, made him a target, and that he would never be the man he wanted him to be.

"Blaine," the authority in his father's voice gave no room for compromise.

He looked at his mother again, and while he was glad she was sticking up for him he couldn't help but notice that she made no move to come to him, instead choosing to stand at her husband's side. He'd file that piece of information away in his mind to dwell on a little later.

So Blaine had no choice. He had to do the hardest thing he'd ever done in his life, alone.

"They...," the words got stuck and he had to clear his throat. The noise sounded painful even to his own ears.

"Well, spit it out, Blaine." and Blaine knew then that he wasn't going to get any sympathy from his father, because looking into his eyes he could tell he already knew what he was going to say. He knew and yet he was going to make him do it anyway. He had some twisted idea that he needed to be a man about this, face up to it. At this moment in time, Blaine had never wanted to be a little boy more in his life. He wanted to run from the room and up to his room… hide under the covers until this whole thing went away. But he knew that wasn't an option, he wasn't a little boy anymore and while he wasn't a man yet either, he knew that's what his father expected him to be. He needed to face him like one, show him that he wasn't as pathetic as he thought. Oh the irony of it. He needed to man up and tell him those three words that would actually confirm all of his father's worst ideas about him. Make them true.

He took one more deep breath and said the three words that he knew would ruin any chance he would ever have of his father truly respecting him.

"They raped me." It was amazing, the power of those three little words. Blaine wondered if they would ever lose their impact. He flashed back to a few short weeks earlier when three different words had seemed like the biggest deal in the word. He remembered sitting in that coffee shop watching Kurt talk so enthusiastically about New York, and they'd just slipped out. He'd done a good job of hiding it, but in those few seconds it took Kurt to swallow his coffee and reply, his heart had stopped beating in his chest. He was terrified he'd screwed things up by saying it too soon, had come across as too needy. But then Kurt had smiled at him and said it back, and everything had fallen right back into place. Thinking of Kurt now gave him the strength to stand there, to not run away and to wait for his father's reaction.

He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but that fleeting look of utter devastation wasn't it. The room was silent apart from his mother's soft sobs, but Blaine couldn't look at her if he wanted to. His eyes were fixed on his father's face and that's why he didn't miss it. The moment his dad made a decision, it was as plain as day.

The devastated look that for a brief moment had given him hope that maybe he'd been wrong, maybe his father didn't hate him, disappeared. What replaced it was exactly what he had been expecting. It was the look he'd been waiting to see on everyone's face once they knew.

Disgust.

Bill Anderson looked at him as though the mere sight of him made him sick and then he looked away. Blaine kept looking at him but his father never once brought his eyes back to his face. He simply wouldn't look at him.

"I think you should go to your room, Blaine. Your mother and I have some things to discuss," and _that was it_. Blaine had almost expected him to yell at him, to tell him how disgusting he was, but he just dismissed him instead, as though he really didn't matter.

He looked over at his mom and she nodded at him sadly. He walked out of the room with his head down, noticing that when he passed his father to leave the room, the man moved slightly away to make sure that he didn't need to touch him to get past.

He stood in the hallway for a minute looking between the front door and the stairs that led to his room. The temptation to leave, to go to Kurt, was almost overwhelming, but this was his home, this was where he belonged. He made his way up the stairs with feet that felt like lead, each step harder to take. He entered his room shutting the door behind him.

He didn't even bother to take off his clothes, just lay back on his bed and shut his eyes. It was a sticky summer evening he should be too warm in the thick sweatshirt, but all Blaine felt was cold.

He couldn't hear anything from downstairs, his parents never raised their voices when they argued but he knew that's what was happening, the air was thick with it. He wondered whether he should check on his mother but couldn't bring himself to open his eyes let alone get up. He lay there with his eyes shut willing sleep to come, it was going to be another long night.

* * *

><p>AN: So please don't hate me, but feel free to hate Bill. I will fix everything eventually.


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: I'm so sorry this one took so long, all sorts of excuses that I'm sure you don't want to hear. But one of the reasons was that I changed my mind about the content but had already written half the chapter, the good news there is that it means the next chapter is already half written so it won't be a week until I next update. Thank you so much for all your feedback. This story now has over 700 reviews which is amazing (although I realise part of the reason is because it's got so many bloody chapters). Also I can't believe people are still finding this, I thought I'd sucked in everyone I was going to already, so welcome newcomers. Sorry I haven't replied to the reviews for the last chapter yet but I will when I get time, love you all!

Anyway on with the show.

Thanks to Rory46 for your help and encouragement.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Forty One<p>

Kurt sat on his bed and tried to control his breathing. The phone call with Blaine had somehow managed to leave him feeling both relieved _and _upset. It had almost been like old times, and that only served to make him realize how much had changed in this last week. He'd eaten dinner with his family but had found it hard to make any conversation. Yes, he saw the concerned looks they all kept giving him, but couldn't find it within himself to even try to fake it for their sakes. As soon as dinner was over, he'd headed up to his room, not even offering to help clean up. He felt a little guilty for that, but he knew they understood.

He saw the photo as he was getting some pajamas out of his dresser and it was _that _that had taken his breath away. He picked up the simple silver frame and sat down on his bed just staring at it.

It was their prom photo and the sight of Blaine with that huge, goofy grin on his face that just broke his heart. He heard a light knock on the door but couldn't answer, and hoped whoever it was would just go away until he had a chance to get himself back under control. No such luck. The door swung open to reveal a worried-looking Carole. As soon as she saw the look on his face, she shut the door behind her and quickly came to join him on the bed.

"Oh Kurt," she said, putting her hand on his far shoulder. He allowed his head to rest against her as he took deep shuddering breaths. "What is it, sweetie?" she said as she rubbed his arm up and down.

"I ..I just … I miss him _so_ much Carole," Kurt said brokenly, still clutching the photo tightly in his hand.

"I know, but he'll be back in the morning." Carole tried to reassure him but Kurt shook his head. That wasn't what he meant.

"No I miss _him,_" he said, thrusting the photo at her. She took it from him and looked down at it. She seemed confused at first, but then he saw tears well up in her eyes as she understood what he meant.

"God, I'm so selfish," Kurt sunk his head into his hands as what he'd just said dawned on him.

"It's not selfish to want someone you love to be okay, Kurt," Carole said gently.

"I just, I …I miss talking to him, seeing him smile, just messing around with him," Kurt said, his cheeks coloring. " I don't mean… _messing around, _messing around, just..."

"Kurt, I _know _what you meant." Carole smiled at him.

"It's just going to take time, that's all. What Blaine went through, what you _both _went through, was just… _horrific._" Carole's voice broke slightly on the last word.

Kurt sighed. "That's part of the problem though, I still don't really _know_ what Blaine went through."

"He hasn't told you anything?"

"Nothing. In fact, we've barely spoken."

"He will when he's ready, but...," Carole hesitated and Kurt tried to read in her eyes what she was thinking.

"But what?" he prompted.

"_Are you sure you're ready to hear it_?"

"Of _course_ I am." Kurt reacted strongly to the implication that he couldn't handle it.

"Think about it, Kurt. Your dad is one of the strongest men I've ever known and _he _was physically sick after hearing Blaine's statement. Do you really want to put yourself through that?"

Kurt was shocked to hear that about his dad; he hadn't known it had affected him so badly. He kept forgetting that he and Blaine weren't the only ones suffering through this… they all were. No one would come away from that night unchanged by this.

"I think I have to," he tried to explain. "How can I ever help him to heal if I don't know what actually happened? I _know_ it's going to be hard, but not as hard as it was for Blaine to live through it. I owe it to him to listen."

Carole surprised him then by grabbing his shoulders and pulling him into a tight embrace.

"You're a good kid, Kurt." Her voice was muffled, and sounded more than a little teary, but he heard her clearly nonetheless.

* * *

><p>Later, when Carole was getting ready for bed, she could feel Burt's eyes on her.<p>

"He wants to know what happened to Blaine," she said, answering the unasked question.

"He knows what happened to Blaine." Burt was frowning from where he sat against the headboard.

"Not the details though." Carole ran a brush through her hair, meeting Burt's eyes in the mirror.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea," Burt responded. The haunted look that crossed his face showed that his own mind was running through some of those details himself.

"Me neither, but he's determined." Burt gave a small chuckle at that.

"_He's always determined_."

Carole smiled back. "That's a good thing."

"I know, but it sure makes things difficult sometimes."

Carole suddenly put her hair brush down on the table and face crumpling, started sobbing.

Burt was by her side in a second, pulling her into his arms and holding her while she cried.

She wasn't quite sure what brought it all on, but once she started, she found it really hard to stop. Burt pulled her to her feet and led her over to the bed. He crouched down on the floor in front of her and looked searchingly into her eyes. Carole took some deep breaths and grabbed a tissue off the night stand, blowing her nose noisily.

"Sorry about that," she said as she wiped at her eyes.

"Don't be silly." Burt smiled at her, offering her another tissue.

"_I don't want Kurt to know what happened_," she tried to explain, "_because I don't want it to have happened_. I still can't understand how something so awful could happen to two of the sweetest boys I've met. I just keep thinking about what I saw in that exam room with Blaine and it breaks my heart."

"I know what you mean," Burt spoke. "It kills me knowing what those men did. I don't want Kurt to know either, but hiding from the truth isn't going to help anyone in the long run. But in the end, it's up to Blaine. If he doesn't want to talk to Kurt about it, I'm not going to push him to. I just hope Kurt will respect that. The last thing Blaine needs right now is to feel pressured into doing anything he doesn't feel comfortable with."

"I'm sure Kurt knows that," and Carole was. As pushy as Kurt could be sometimes, he knew where to draw the line, especially when it came to Blaine.

"Do you think Blaine's okay?" she asked.

Burt shrugged and ran a weary hand over the top of his head. "I hope so," he admitted.

Carole hoped that Natalie was finally stepping up to the plate and giving Blaine the support he needed. She'd always liked Blaine, but it wasn't until all of this that she'd discovered just how much she really cared for him. She was as worried about him as she would be if he were her own son. She could only pray that his own mother cared as much.

"Let's try and get some sleep," Burt said, getting up off the floor. "Maybe things will be a little brighter in the morning."

Carole smiled as he gave her a light kiss on the cheek, but she still had a sinking feeling inside. It was hard to see the sun when there were still so many dark clouds in the way.

* * *

><p>AN: So no Blaine in this one but don't worry we'll check in with him in the next one.


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: So plenty of Blaine in this one, hope you like it.

3 weeks till season 3, not that I'm counting, although I have to wait till the next day because I live in England and I have to wait for some kind soul to illegally upload it so I can watch it. Shhhh don't tell anyone.

And oh my god the kids from hell are visiting next door again. The run about screaming and banging doors at 11pm and then unsuprisingly the one year old that lives there wakes up and starts screaming. I can't believe they just let them, I hope their baby Yussef doesn't grow up like that. I know that's irrelevant and you don't care but I felt the need to vent. At least I won't have to feel guilty when this next baby is screaming all night long, payback time I think.

Once again thank you to the wonderful Rory46.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Forty Two<p>

Blaine almost crept down the stairs next morning, a little afraid of what he might walk into. Entering the kitchen, he realized he should have known better. It looked just like any other morning in the Anderson household. His mother and father sat at the breakfast table drinking coffee and eating toast, and his father's head was buried, as usual, in the morning paper.

His mom looked up as soon as he entered the room and shot him a nervous smile.

"Morning, Blaine. Sit down and I'll get you some breakfast," she said, starting to get up. She froze half out of the seat when Blaine's father spoke from behind his paper.

"_Sit down, Natalie. Blaine's not a child. He's more than capable of getting himself something to eat."_

Blaine could see the way his mom half-stood, looking between her son and her husband, clearly torn.

"It's fine, Mom, I just want some cereal anyway." Blaine gave her the 'out' she was looking for, and she sat back down, shooting him a grateful look as she did so.

Blaine walked over to the cupboard where the cereals were kept. Reaching up for a box, he couldn't contain a hiss of pain as the movement pulled on his injured ribs.

Turning back around, he saw both of his parents looking at him, but his dad quickly looked back down at his paper as their eyes met.

Blaine felt tears pricking his own eyes as he quickly turned back around under the pretext of getting a bowl.

"Well, I'd better get going." Blaine heard the scrape of a chair as his father stood up. " I have a busy day ahead."

"Will you be back for dinner?" his mom asked, and from the sound of things she had stood up as well.

"Yes. We'll eat together as a_ family _tonight_._" Blaine heard the silent command in his father's voice. He was obviously expecting Blaine to join them for dinner.

Blaine turned back around, full cereal bowl in hand, just in time to see his mom give his dad a kiss on the cheek.

_Bill Anderson walked out of the room without saying one word to his son._

As soon as he heard the front door close, Blaine slumped down into one of the chairs with a sigh.

"Are you okay?" his mom asked, pouring milk into his bowl.

"_He hates me_." Blaine didn't know he was going to say that until it came out, and he instantly regretted it, but that didn't make it any less true.

Natalie looked at him in shock.

"Of _course_ he doesn't hate you, Blaine. He's your father… he loves you."

She sat down next to him and he saw that her hand was shaking as she reached out to put it on top of one of his own.

"Then why won't he speak to me?" Blaine couldn't believe he was being this open with his mom, but he just really needed someone to talk to, someone to ease this gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"He did..._didn't he_?" Natalie frowned, and it almost looked like as if she was replaying the morning's events in her mind.

"_No, he didn't_." Blaine could hear the anger seeping into his voice now, but he hoped his mom hadn't picked up on it.

"Well, I'm sure he _meant _to. He's so very busy, and he's got a lot on his mind." Blaine wondered if she ever got tired of making excuses for the man.

Blaine stood up, throwing her hand off. _This was the last place he needed to be right now._

"That doesn't explain why he couldn't even _look_ at me." The way his voice wavered, showing his weakness, annoyed him.

His mother didn't say anything, just sat staring at him, her mouth open in shock.

"You know what… it doesn't matter," Blaine said, grabbing his car keys off the shelf. "_I'm going to Kurt's."_

"Will you be back in time for dinner?" he heard her calling after him as he strode down the hall.

"_Of course_," he replied, resisting the urge to slam the door behind him. "_Wouldn't want to miss a family dinner for the world,_" he muttered sarcastically under his breath.

He climbed into the car and backed out of the driveway. With every mile that went by, he relaxed a little bit more. It wasn't lost on him that the further he got from his own house and the closer he got to Kurt's, the better he felt.

_Maybe this was what going home should really feel like._

* * *

><p>Kurt knew something was wrong with Blaine the second he walked through the door. Not that anything had been <em>right<em> recently, but this was something new.

He didn't know what had happened after their phone call last night, but something had changed. The little bit of lightness he'd heard in his boyfriend's voice had gone, replaced by an even wearier sound than before. Kurt wanted nothing more than to take him up to his room and hold him close, until some of that weight was lifted from his shoulders, but Blaine seemed to want to spend time with the other people in the house as well. It was almost like he seemed to _crave_ the company that Kurt's family provided. Kurt started to get a sneaking suspicion as to what might be wrong.

He watched as his dad and Blaine had some kind of coded conversation that left them both blushing a little. Whatever Blaine was telling Burt, something about some kind of problem having sorted itself out and things running smoothly now, had both of them looking relieved. Kurt didn't know what they were talking about exactly, but he was pretty sure it _wasn't_ about Blaine's car.

He watched as Blaine helped Carole prepare lunch. Blaine seemed to enjoy the simple actions and while nothing of any great importance was said between the two of them, Kurt could see a little more of the tension leave his shoulders.

It wasn't until mid-afternoon that Kurt found himself alone with Blaine and although he was bursting with a thousand questions, he decided that for now they could wait. He didn't want to do anything to push him away again. Blaine needed to know that this was somewhere that he could run _to_, not somewhere he needed to run _from_. The two of them sat beside each other on the sofa in the den, their hands clasped together tightly, with Blaine's head resting on Kurt's shoulder. The television was on, but neither of them was really paying attention to what was on. Kurt felt himself starting to drift off to sleep when he heard Blaine speak.

"My dad got back last night." Kurt was immediately alert, sitting up a little straighter so Blaine was forced to sit up, too.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kurt asked, and although he half-suspected that might be the reason for Blaine's behavior today, it was still a shock to hear it.

Blaine just shrugged and refused to meet Kurt's eyes.

"_Does he know_?" Kurt asked gently.

Blaine nodded his head slightly.

"_What did he...how did he take it_?" Kurt asked, not really sure how to phrase any of this.

Blaine shrugged again.

"_He was upset, I think,_" Blaine said, and those few words told a much bigger story than he probably knew. _How did Blaine not know?_ What exactly happened last night to cause Blaine to be unsure of what his dad thought about all this?

"_I don't...I don't understand,_" Kurt tried to meet Blaine's eyes, but it was impossible. "How do you _not _know? Didn't he say anything to you?"

"_Not everyone's dad is like yours_." Blaine spoke the words quietly, but Kurt heard them clearly enough. Blaine did look at him then and Kurt almost wished he hadn't because the amount of pain in those beautiful hazel eyes took his breath away.

The doorbell rang, making them both jump, and neither boy moved. Kurt knew someone else would answer the door and Blaine didn't really care one way or the other.

A few seconds later though, Burt stood at the entrance to the den clearing his throat to get their attention.

"You have a couple of visitors," he said, stepping aside to reveal who had been at the door.

Santana looked nervously between the two of them as though expecting one of them to jump at her any second. Brittany, on the other hand, just stood there smiling sweetly.

* * *

><p>AN: For those of you in need of a little fluff and sweetness I have a little scene planned for the next chapter with one of the girls. For those of you gobbling up the angst, don't worry plenty of that too.


	43. Chapter 43

A/N: So a few of you have been requestiing fluff, well here you go. Be warned this is about the corniest, cheesiest thing I've ever read, let alone written. I hope you like it. I have even induldged in a big klaine fan fic cliche but I think it works in the context of the story. I think you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.

Oh and this ones a bit longer, I'm sure you'll approve.

Thanks to Rory46, who's already with a quick answer for me.

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Forty Three<p>

Santana looked at the two boys sitting on the couch. They both looked better than the last time she'd seen them, but still looked incredibly tired. Her own sleepless nights had left her looking a lot less knockout than usual, so she knew what that was all about.

"Can I talk to Blaine alone?" she asked. Kurt shot her a disgruntled look, but the diva would just have to suck it up. What she was about to say wasn't something she did very often and she really didn't want an audience.

"Sure," Blaine said standing. "Let's go in the kitchen."

Brittany went over and sat down in Blaine's vacant seat.

"Ooooh …Grey's Anatomy," she said, registering what was on the television. "I never get to watch this at home. Lord Tubbington doesn't like hospital dramas. I think it reminds him of when we had him neutered."

Blaine led Santana into the kitchen where they both sat down at the counter. Neither of them spoke at first, and Santana could tell that Blaine was waiting for her to say something. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"_I'm sorry._" Wow, that was actually a lot easier than she'd expected.

Blaine still sat there in silence, just looking at her with those damn puppy dog eyes of his. He obviously wanted more from her than just two words. Typical.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't keep your secret. I should have kept my mouth shut. I just...it was eating me up inside and I know that sounds incredibly selfish, because it is, but...," she was starting to think maybe she should have just left it at those first two words because this was just awkward. "I was really worried about you."

Blaine finally reacted to what she was saying, and he seemed stunned by that final sentence. _Was she really that much of a bitch? _That he couldn't imagine her caring enough about anyone to be worried? No, _that wasn't it_, she thought, studying him. It wasn't about her. _It was him_. He found it hard to believe she cared that much about _him_. Wow… he really was screwed up. If they were both straight he'd make the perfect boyfriend. She could really use that insecurity to manipulate him any way she wanted, but as it was, well, it just made her sad.

"I'm a bit pissed off that you basically told New Directions," Blaine said, not really looking at her, "but you know what? It's fine." He seemed really worn out as he said it, as though he just couldn't be bothered to be angry at her anymore.

"Don't do that," she snapped at him.

"Do what?" Blaine's eyebrows almost touched his hairline in surprise at the tone of her voice. Wow, those things looked just like triangles. _Strange how she'd never noticed that before_. She was getting distracted.

"Letting me off so easily. You're entitled to be angry, Blaine. Hell, if it was me, I'd be raging."

"Well, you're not me," Blaine responded, and she was pleased to see that he actually seemed a little irritated now. It was strange, really. She'd been terrified that he'd be angry at her when she tried to apologize, but here she was _deliberately_ trying to get that reaction out of him. Maybe she didn't like seeing anyone who'd had all the fight beaten out of them. It was nice to see he still had a spark of it somewhere inside him.

"To be honest, Santana, of all the things that have been said and done to me these last few days, what you did pales in comparison."

Santana winced at that, trying not to picture the horrific marks she'd seen on his body, the same ones that haunted her dreams.

"Look," Blaine continued, "it was unfair of me to ask you to keep it to yourself. I just...I wasn't ready for anyone to know then."

"_And you're okay with them knowing now_?" Santana asked the question without thinking and saw the way Blaine flinched. Clearly she'd touched a nerve.

"Honestly?" Blaine sighed. "No, not really. I'd be quite happy if noone ever had to find out, but you weren't the only reason people found out. It was inevitable, really."

"Well, I'm still sorry, and I hope we can still be friends." Blaine looked as shocked by her comment as she was. Friends? Really? What was it about this boy that brought out her mothering instinct? God, was she going soft? Sure, what he'd been through was awful, but it was more than just sympathy she was feeling. My god, she actually liked the little hobbit.

"We're friends?" Blaine asked incredulously.

"Yes, we're friends." Santana punched him in the upper arm to prove her point, but felt bad when she saw him wince.

"Sorry, did I hit a bruise?" she asked, concerned.

"No." Blaine grinned at her. "You just pack a solid punch."

"Guess that answers the question of which one of you is the _girl_ in your relationship." Santana knew the comment was incredibly offensive, but that's what she was known for, and a leopard could only change so many of their spots. She made sure she smiled as she said it though, to take some of the sting out of the words.

"Well, lets' go join the others before you feel the urge to hit me again." Blaine smiled at her as he got up from his seat and offered her his hand to help her up.

He really was amazing, after everything he'd been through he was still such a gentleman. She didn't know many of those.

She took his offered hand and stood up. She looked at him for a single heartbeat before deciding 'why the hell not' and asking him something else.

"Can I give you a hug?"

He looked like a deer that had been caught in the headlights before giving her a small nod.

She reached her arms around his surprisingly muscular shoulders, careful not to squeeze too tightly. At first he tensed up but she smiled in relief as she felt him relax and bring his own arms up to hug her back.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to...," Finn's unmistakable voice came from the doorway.

They let go of each other quickly, and Santana took a step back before turning to look at the taller boy.

"Santana?" Finn looked at her like he'd caught her sleeping with his mom, which come to think of it, was probably more likely than what he'd actually walked in on.

"What, Lurch?" Santana felt much more like herself now she had someone to pick on. "We'd better get back in there," she said, indicating where the other two were. "I wouldn't want Kurt to think I'd run away with his boy toy." With those words, she sashayed out of the room letting the boys follow in her wake.

Just as it should be.

Luckily nobody commented on the fact that both hers and Blaine's eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

Brittany and Kurt scooted up so that they could join them on the sofa and Finn sat in the armchair across from them and they all pretended to watch TV for a while. Every now and then, Santana felt the need to look over and check on Blaine. Funnily enough, everyone else seemed to be doing the same thing at one point or another. It was nice to see how many people cared, and from the little smiles Blaine kept shooting them, she knew he must feel that way too.

* * *

><p>Blaine felt uncomfortable. He could tell everyone was looking at him, and while it had been nice to find out that Santana saw him as a friend, he wasn't used to this many people showing him concern. He made sure to smile every now and then so that everyone could see he was okay.<p>

Glancing down at his watch he almost jumped out of his seat in shock.

"What's the matter?" Kurt asked, seeing his distress.

"I have to get going, otherwise I'll be late for dinner," Blaine explained, getting up and glancing at the door frantically.

"Just stay here for dinner," Finn said, looking confused at his panic.

"No, no I can't do that." As much as Blaine wanted to, he didn't want to risk upsetting his dad anymore, since doing that just made everyone's lives more difficult. "My dad wanted us to have a family dinner, so I can't miss it."

"Your dad's back?" Finn asked. Blaine just nodded, already heading towards the door.

"Wait, wait," Brittany surprised him by running to catch up with him.

He stopped at the door, his hand already on the handle.

"I have something I wanted to give you," Brittany said a little shyly. She reached into the ridiculously large bag she had in her hand and pulled out the cutest teddy bear Blaine had ever seen in his life. The main reason it was so cute was because it was basically Kurt in bear form. It was wearing skin tight jeans, a dress shirt and waistcoat, and to finish it off, a pair of hi-top sneakers. It was adorable.

"I went to the mall yesterday and got it for you," Brittany said, holding the bear out to him. Blaine took it from her, and didn't really know what to say.

"It's mini-Kurt," she explained, although he knew that already. "I thought that when you get scared at night then you could cuddle this and then you won't have to feel so alone."

Blaine could barely swallow past the lump in his throat.

"Squeeze its paw," Brittany prompted, and Blaine looked at her in confusion. She just smiled sweetly back. Slightly nervously, he pressed on one of the bear's paws.

A voice came out of it, a little tinny but unmistakably Kurt's. But it wasn't just the voice that caused Blaine to let out a small sob as much as it was the word it said.

Just one word.

One little word.

But it was one that meant so much to both of them.

"Courage," the little bear said.

"_Don't you like it_?" Brittany said, when she saw the tears coursing down his cheeks. "I asked Kurt to record a message on it while you were in the kitchen and he thought you'd like it, but I can take it back if you want. It's stupid isn't it?" Brittany reached her hand out to take the bear back, her cheeks coloring up in embarrassment. Blaine quickly moved so the bear was out of her reach.

"It's not stupid, Brittany," he reassured her. "_I love it_." His voice was a little hoarse.

Brittany smiled at him then and it was the brightest thing he'd ever seen. He reached his spare arm out and pulled her into a hug. As he squeezed her against him, one of them must have pressed the bear's paw, because a muffled "courage" came out of it. They broke apart laughing a little, and when Blaine looked at the others, he wasn't surprised to see smiles on all their faces too. What did surprise him was that they all had wet eyes as well.

"_I really do have to go,_" Blaine said, opening the door, "but thank you, Brittany."

She smiled at him and the other two waved goodbye as Kurt walked him to his car.

As they got to the car, Kurt pulled Blaine into a yet another hug, but while the others had been nice, this one felt like coming home. He was always amazed at how perfectly they fit together, like they were made to do this. Kurt broke the embrace with reluctant look on his face.

"You'd better get going, I don't want you to get in trouble with your dad," he said. "Will you be okay?" he asked as Blaine opened the driver's side door of his car.

"Yeah," Blaine smiled. "At least I'll have company," he said, smiling down at the bear in his hand. "He can give me courage."

"Sorry I stole your line," Kurt grimaced.

"Don't be," Blaine told him. "It's perfect."

Then he did something that he'd been wanting to do all day but had been too nervous to try.

_He kissed Kurt_.

It was only a small light touching together of lips for the briefest of moments, but it felt like a huge step in the right direction, because everything about it felt right, just like it should.

Kurt looked at him, his eyes wide in shock, just like the very first time they'd kissed. Then _just_ like that time, he smiled and blushed.

His boyfriend stood and watched him drive away and Blaine could see him in his rearview mirror until he turned the corner at the end of the street. Once the real Kurt was out of sight, he looked back down at the teddy bear version sitting next to him. He couldn't help but grin at the sight- it was amazing how something so silly could make him feel so much better.

He drove home feeling a little lighter than when he'd left this morning.

* * *

><p>AN: So once you've got over your sugar induced sickness, I'd love to know what you thought. I realise the courage thing has been done to death but I do think it works here. I'm not saying it's a big thing between them but it meant a lot to Kurt and I think he would think it was appropriate in this situation to return the favour to Blaine, and I'm sure Blaine at least remembers sending the text to Kurt and just the word itself would really help him when he's feeling down.

I actaully went on the Build a Bear Workshop site and built a bear wearing the clothes I described, have a look at the site the things should be easy to find, the high top sneakers really are adorable. Also I know you can record a voice on it, I don't know if you have to do it in store though but I thought I'd ignore that fact for the sake of this fic. (My 43 year old sister actually has a bear that has a recording of her husbands voice saying "I love you". It's the creepiest thing I've ever seen I've ever heard.


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: I am so sorry, this is ridiculously late. I wasn't very well, then my daughter wasn't but then when I tried to write I just couldn't. As a result I'm not that happy with this chapter but it does what I need it to. This is the same time frame as the last one, so is also leading up to the Anderson family dinner. Thank you for all your lovely reviews, I will answer them soon.

Also who's excited for the new season?

Thanks again to Rory46 for all your help and guidance.

Don't own em but I do now own Season 2 on dvd, yay!

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><p>Chapter Forty Four<p>

Detective Ryan Davies really hated his job sometimes. Growing up, he'd wanted to be a superhero and as he'd gotten older and realized that wasn't possible, he'd set his sights on working for the police department instead. But instead of helping people and preventing crimes, most of the time he felt like all he did was mop up the mess that was left behind. This latest case was one of the messiest yet. Sighing he put his pen down and reached for his coffee. What he really wanted was a shower. Talking to those two lowlifes this morning had left him feeling like his skin was crawling. He still hadn't decided who he liked least- Steve Johnson, who was all kinds of pathetic, or John Burrows, who made him want to punch him so badly that he'd had to put his hands under the table so no one could see how tightly he was clenching his fists.

Neither man would admit to what had really happened in that alley. Steve claimed he hadn't even been there, which just showed the pure stupidity of the man. The one thing neither of them could deny was that they'd been there. There was far too much evidence against them for that to work, but Steve was sticking to his story, for now. John on the other hand, well, _Davies had to take another deep breath just thinking about that scum bag,_ wasn't denying being in the alley. Hell, he wasn't even denying having _sex _with Blaine. _No_, what he was claiming was that _it was consensual_. The piece of shit was actually trying to say that the boy _had wanted it_. He even said that Kurt had only gotten hurt because he'd wanted in, had gotten jealous. He said all of this with a straight face, despite a criminal record a mile long that contained an extensive history of rape and molestation of young boys, making such a claim completely ridiculous. He'd had the audacity to even smirk as he'd spoken and Ryan wanted nothing more than to wipe that look off his face, permanently.

In fact, there had been a moment when that smirk had disappeared, only fleetingly, but long enough to tell Davies something. It had been when the subject of the third man came up. When Davies had asked about Lance, John's face had drained of color for a moment and the detective was pretty sure that the other man was scared. He composed himself quickly though and then said that there had been no third man. He'd tried to sound cocky as he said it, but Davies had picked up on the tremor in his voice.

So, after a very frustrating morning, here he sat going over the ridiculous amounts of paperwork that this job always seemed to entail. He knew they had a pretty good case, regardless, but he just wished for Blaine and Kurt's sake that the two men had just confessed, which would save the boys the trauma of having to testify in court. He also really wanted to find the third guy, because as bad as what those two had done, it paled next to what the missing man had inflicted on Blaine. After hearing Blaine's testimony, Davies had had to suppress a shudder at the realization that this had very nearly been a murder investigation. _That man_ needed to be taken off the streets, before he had a chance again, because it was only a matter of time before he would strike again and maybe this time there wouldn't be someone there to rein him in.

He threw his pen down in frustration as the words on the page started to swim in front of him. He decided another cup of coffee was definitely in order before he could attempt to tackle the rest. He got up from his desk and headed toward the front of the station. There was a coffee machine in the staff room, but the vending machine that stood near the front desk was much more drinkable.

Claire, who was manning the front desk today, beckoned him over when she saw him.

"I was just about to call you," she said, smiling up at him as he walked over. "There's a Mr. Anderson to see you." She nodded in the direction of a professional looking man who stood, rather than sat in the waiting area.

Davies thanked Claire and approached the man, who looked very impatient. Davies had been wondering when he would meet Blaine's father, and truthfully, he'd been expecting it to happen a lot sooner. Not that he was exactly looking forward to this meeting, since it was going to be uncomfortable, to say the least.

"Mr. Anderson?" he asked as the other man looked at him. "I'm Detective Davies. I'm in charge of your son's case. Do you want to follow me? We can go somewhere a little more private."

"Yes, I'd appreciate that," Mr. Anderson said, following him down the corridor to an empty interview room. Davies changed the sign on the door to 'occupied' to ensure they wouldn't be disturbed and indicated to the older man to take a seat.

"I'm sorry. I should have asked if you'd like a cup of coffee or something," Davies said, remembering his manners.

"No, that's fine. I would prefer to get this over quickly. I have some important things to deal with at my office," Anderson said, and Davies suppressed the frown he could feel starting to form. "I just wondered what point you were at in the investigation and whether we could implement some kind of damage control."

Davies was a little startled. _This_ was not how he'd imagined this meeting going at all. He'd been worried about having to deal with a distraught father, possibly an angry one, but in his wildest dreams would he have expected an… _irritated…_ one.

"I've actually been interviewing the two men we have in custody this morning," he informed the other man.

"And how did that go?"

"Well, one of them is claiming that he wasn't there, despite the fact that every piece of evidence we have disagrees with him."

Mr. Anderson merely nodded at this information.

"The other one, he, um…,"Davies trailed off, not exactly sure how to approach this. He didn't want to trigger this man's indignant anger, a reaction he knew he would have upon hearing that his son's rapist was trying to say that he _'wanted it'_. Seeing the impatient look on Mr. Anderson's face, however, prompted him to continue despite his own misgivings.

"He is saying that the sexual act between himself and your son was consensual."

He saw a flash of something in the man's eyes that he assumed was anger, but his next words shocked him to the core.

"_Do you think that there's a possibility that he could be telling the truth?"_

Davies knew that if he'd been drinking the coffee that he'd been going to fetch, then he would have probably just spat it all over the table in shock. Did this man seriously just ask if he thought his son had consented to what had happened in that alley? Had he even seen his son since the incident? Even without the visible injuries the boy had sustained, just the look in his eyes told the awful story of what had happened that night.

_Did this man seriously think his son would lie about something like that?_

"_Excuse me_?" he managed to splutter out after a few seconds.

"Look, Detective Davies, I'm sure you know about the lifestyle choice my son and that other boy have made. Such a lifestyle brings with it certain _repercussions_. How do we know that this wasn't something that just got a little out of hand? Blaine knows how much I disapprove of this phase of his, and maybe he was embarrassed or ashamed of what the consequences of his actions would be."

"I'm sure your son feels ashamed." Davies was quite proud of how even and measured his voice sounded, considering how angry he was right now. "_Most rape victims do._" He saw the way the man flinched at the word _rape_ and was pleased he'd hit a nerve. "I have absolutely no doubt that what your son told me is true." _Just as you should,_ he silently added. "We have a very strong case against both the men involved and I'm sure the prosecutor will agree."

"What if we keep the sexual aspect out of it?" Mr. Anderson now seemed to be taking the damage control approach. "Could the case still go ahead?"

"I don't understand _why_ you would want us to do that. The more we charge these men with, the longer their sentences will be," Davies tried to explain.

"But it is possible?" Anderson pushed.

"I'm not sure, maybe." Davies knew he was openly frowning now, but he didn't care.

"What about the press?" Anderson's next question also took him by surprise. "Have they expressed an interest in the case yet?"

Davies once again wasn't sure _how _to answer, because the truth was that the media had expressed an interest when they thought the crime had been a gay bashing, but once the sexual assault had come to light, things had changed. Apparently middle-America wanted to hear when innocent young gay men were beaten for their sexuality. _This_ was something people could rage against with righteous indignation. However, when it turned out that a gay man was _raped_, well, it wasn't quite so sympathetic a story, because _deep down_ some of those same people thought maybe, _just maybe_, that same gay boy wasn't quite so innocent when it came to this sort of thing.

Davies, of course, didn't want to say any of this to Blaine's father because it seemed he shared some of those same views. The young detective found that he really didn't want to give this man any reason to think that he was right. _So he chose to lie instead_.

"No, there's been no media interest."

Mr. Anderson breathed out a sigh of relief. "Well, that's good. Maybe we can keep this thing contained after all. I would hate anyone's life to be affected by it long-term."

Davies had never wanted to punch someone other than a suspect so badly in his life. Did this man _seriously_ think that everyone was going to come out of this unharmed? That either of those boys weren't going to be dealing with this for the rest of their lives?

"Well, thank you for your time," Mr. Anderson said, as he stood up. He clearly thought that he was done here.

Davies decided that he needed to make one little effort to try and make Blaine's life easier.

"I gave your wife a number for a very good therapist. I hope you will be able to arrange something for Blaine…I… I think he would really benefit from it."

The sneer that the other man made at the word 'therapist' was enough of an answer.

"Um, yes… well, I don't think that will be necessary. I'll be in touch about the case." He offered his hand to shake, and Davies took it because that was his job.

As soon as the door shut he sank back down into his seat and was surprised to note that his hands were shaking. He had originally been planning on getting another cup of coffee, but he didn't need the stimulant anymore. Looking at his watch, he saw he only had two hours left of his shift. He was pleased because all he wanted now was a large glass of whiskey.

* * *

><p>AN: So next chapter will be the Anderson family dinner, might be interesting.


	45. Chapter 45

A/N: Okay so first off sorry this is so short and it isn't the big family dinner you're all waiting for. There are just a couple of things that needed to be done before that happened and I want to give it it's own chapter. Good news is that I've already started the next one and baring anything unforseen I will try to get it up before the weekend. Thank you for sticking with me and being patient.

On a personal note after a hissy fit by me (pregnancy hormones are a bitch) we have come to the decision that if this baby is a girl my husband gets to pick the name and if it's a boy I do. So come on people help me out with suggestions. No glee related ones though please, although Noah is on my list, but not for that reason.

Thanks to Rory46.

Don't own em.

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><p>Chapter Forty Five<p>

Blaine pulled into the driveway of his house, pleased to see his father's car wasn't there yet. At least he'd have a chance to sneak Kurt Bear in before his dad could see it. There was no way he was giving it up, so he really didn't want that man seeing it.

Once again, as soon as the door opened, his mom appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Hi. Did you have a nice day?" she asked, drying her hands on a hand towel.

Blaine found himself smiling down at the teddy bear he had clutched in one of his hands. "Yeah, actually I did," he replied.

"What's that you have there?" His mom approached him and he resisted the urge to hide it behind his back. Despite their differences, his mom was not a cruel woman, and he knew she wouldn't take it away from him. At least not while his father wasn't here.

"A bear. A friend gave it to me." Blaine surprised himself with the emotion in his voice.

"How sweet. Can I look at it?" She put a hand out and he reluctantly handed it over.

She looked it over, tugging on the little tie and smiling at the hi-top sneakers it was wearing. He wondered if she realized who it looked like, and he had to assume not, because otherwise her smile wouldn't be quite so bright.

She almost dropped the bear in surprise when she pressed its paw and it spoke. She looked at him with wide eyes as she once again pressed the paw. He saw her eyes fill with tears immediately as his boyfriend's voice came out loud and clear saying that one, all important word.

"Oh, Blaine," she said, and in the next instant he found himself clutched tightly in her embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine," she sobbed into his shoulder. He raised his hands to pat her awkwardly on the back.

"It's okay, Mom," he said, not quite sure what she was apologizing for, anyway.

"No, it's not," she replied, pulling back from him.

He looked at her in surprise, not sure he'd ever heard her so forceful in his life.

"I'm sorry, Blaine. I've been selfish." He knew he should disagree with her, but couldn't find it within himself to deny what she was saying.

"And not just recently, but for a long time. I've let your father control me for too long."

"You're not the only one," Blaine admitted, hanging his head in shame at both their weaknesses.

"But I'm the adult here. I shouldn't have put you second…._ever_. You should always come first. I've always been so afraid of upsetting your father that I let it cloud everything I do. I'm sorry that it took something like this to open my eyes."

Blaine just stood there. This was like some kind of dream,…he hadn't known just how much he needed his mom until now. Finally, maybe, he could have her.

"I promise you, Blaine," she said, putting her hand on either side of his face and looking him straight in the eyes. "I will _always_ put you first from now on. You don't have to be the strong one anymore, that's my job."

Blaine started to cry then, but before he could wipe the tears away, his mom ran her thumb gently over his cheeks, doing it for him. He grabbed her to him and spoke into the softness of her hair.

"Thank you, Mom."

"No, Blaine, thank you. For not giving up on me."

They stood like that for a while and Blaine couldn't help thinking that for a day that had been full of tears, it had actually been a good one.

They eventually pulled apart, smiling at each other sheepishly. Neither of them was used to being this open with one another.

"Why don't you go freshen up before dinner?" his mom said, handing the bear back to him. "You've got a while before your father gets home."

Something of his trepidation must have shown on his face, because she ran a comforting hand up his arm. "Don't worry, Blaine, let's wait and see how he is, but no matter what, we'll face him together, okay?"

Blaine just nodded at her before heading for the stairs.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I found your cell phone at the bottom of your bag and put it on charge in your room," she called after him.

"Thanks," he said, not sure if he meant it or not. It was bound to contain plenty of missed calls and messages from people he wasn't sure he wanted to face yet.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, Blaine's hair was still wet from the shower, but he knew he couldn't put off checking his phone any longer. Turning it on, he couldn't pretend to be surprised at the amount of messages he'd received.<p>

There were several from friends at Dalton and feeling slightly guilty, he deleted most of them without even reading them. He found the last one he'd received from Wes and after reading the clearly worried boy's most recent text, he decided that he really needed to respond. If not he had a feeling that the older boy might show up on his doorstep any moment to check on him. He still wasn't sure whether he wanted anyone from Dalton to know. After all, most of those guys worshipped him and if he was honest, he didn't want to do anything to ruin that. He settled on letting Wes know that he'd had a tough last few days and that things were starting to look a little better. The relieved text he got back only seconds after he sent his made him feel even worse about ignoring his friend for so long. Looking through the rest, there was a significant amount from Kurt, but as all but the last two were from before he'd seen him today, he left them unread for now.

That left only three texts that he'd received this evening. Two from Kurt,and one from a number he didn't recognize. He frowned at the unfamiliar number before choosing to ignore it for now and read the ones from Kurt. The first made him smile.

DON'T WASTE ALL YOUR CUDDLES ON THE BEAR. SAVE SOME FOR ME.

Still smiling, he read the second one.

SORRY I MAY HAVE DONE SOMETHING STUPID, PLEASE DON'T HATE ME.

He frowned down at the message. What was that supposed to mean?

He debated between calling his boyfriend right away and his curiosity about the unknown text. He'd just check the text and then call Kurt. One more second couldn't hurt.

KURT GAVE ME YOUR NUMBER. TOLD ME YOUR DAD IS BACK. JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT NO MATTER WHAT, OUR DOOR IS ALWAYS OPEN. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF, KID. BURT.

Blaine was completely blown away.

There were no other words for it.

Burt Hummel, a completely stereotypical older male in his lack of knowledge of anything remotely resembling modern technology, had just _texted_ him.

What he'd said in the text was almost irrelevant compared to the fact that he'd texted him at all. That one message must have taken him forever. Blaine couldn't help smiling at the thought of the older man hunched over, jabbing at the small buttons on his outdated cell phone.

Once again, Blaine felt his eyes filling up with tears. How could an experience so horrible be responsible for all these incredible feelings he was experiencing? In the last week he'd been shown the worst in humanity, but as a result, he was now getting to see some of the best, too.

Before he could reply to either text there was a light knock at the door. His mom stuck her head in the door, but seeing the tears on his face, she hesitated in what she was about to say.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, Mom, I'm good," he said, smiling back at her.

She nodded in relief, and he knew from the way she bit her lip nervously that she was about to burst his happy bubble.

"Will you come down for dinner then? Your father's home."

Blaine felt his heart sink a little but looking down at the phone in his hand and the bear that sat on his bed, he took a deep breath and got up. He walked over to where his mom stood looking at him nervously and took her hand in his.

"Come on then, let's not keep him waiting." She smiled at his hand clasped in hers, and together they left what felt like the safety of his bedroom and descended the stairs into the lion's den.

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><p>AN: So like I said chapter 46 is going to be the dinner, sorry to keep you hanging on like this.


	46. Chapter 46

A/N: So I'm going to stop making promises about when the next chapter will be done because every time I do that Real Life comes along and says "oh no I don't think so" before giving me a big kick. This time it was laryngitis, joy. Just know that I am very invested in this story and I will always do my best to get the next chapter to you all as soon as I can.

Well here we go, the long promised dinner scene, I hope it doesn't disappoint.

Also thank you once again to Rory46 and Happy Belated Birthday!

Don't own em.

* * *

><p>Chapter Forty Six<p>

Blaine was impressed. His mom had cooked a whole chicken and all the trimmings, something he hadn't known she was even capable of.

"Thanks, Mom," he said, as she plated some food up for him. He chose to ignore the look that his father gave the pair of them. Blaine began eating, enjoying the home- cooked meal.

"How was work, Blaine?" his father asked, breaking the silence and almost causing Blaine to drop his fork. Work, _shit_. He'd totally forgotten about the Six Flags job he was supposed to start this week. Before he could think of a reply, his mom spoke.

"I called them and told them that Blaine wouldn't be able to make it," Natalie explained calmly as she cut into a carrot and delicately put it in her mouth.

"And why exactly would you do that?" Blaine could hear the irritation in his father's voice and pretended to be very interested in the food on his plate.

Natalie put her knife and fork down on the table slowly.

"Have you seen your son, Bill?" she asked.

"Of course I've seen him," Bill scoffed and carried on eating. "He's sitting right there," pointing to Blaine with his empty fork.

"That's not what I meant, Bill, and you know it," Natalie snapped. Blaine stared at his mother, mouth open in shock. "Take a good look at him. Look at his face."

Bill frowned at his normally placid wife before flicking his eyes guiltily at where Blaine was sitting. Blaine felt very self-conscious as he felt his father's eyes flick over the nasty cut on his forehead, the still swollen eye and the almost healed split in his lip. He couldn't help but notice that his father still didn't meet his eyes, though.

"Yes, I suppose I see what you mean. I don't imagine they would want someone in their little show looking like that."

"No, damn it, Bill, that's not what I meant." Natalie slammed her hand down on the table, making all of them jump.

"Look at him properly. Blaine was raped." Blaine flinched at the word, wondering whether it would ever lose its raw edge. "Do you really think he's in any state, physically or mentally to be working? He barely eats, he's not sleeping, and he needs to see a therapist."

Bill sat through all this in stunned silence, but at the word 'therapist', his lip curled up into a sneer.

"Yes, the detective mentioned something about that, and you know how I feel about those people, Natalie. The Andersons deal with their own problems. Things like this make us stronger."

"Things like _this? _Since when have any of us had to deal with something as big as this?" Natalie was almost shouting now, and Blaine just sat there in awe. "I wanted him to see someone after the Sadie Hawkins dance, and as usual, I let you take over and brush it all under the carpet. Well, not this time, William. I will not stand by and watch my son suffer any more, not if there's something I can do to help."

She turned to where Blaine was sitting now and grasped his hand in hers. "I meant what I said before, Blaine. I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm here for you now."

The heartfelt moment was ruined when his father snorted out a harsh laugh.

"Oh, how touching. You watch too much daytime television, Natalie. You mommy -coddling Blaine isn't going to help him. You need to let him be a man."

"This isn't mommy coddling," Natalie hissed. "This is showing him that I love him, something every child deserves."

"That's just it, Natalie. Blaine isn't a child anymore…"

"He's still my child," Natalie interrupted.

"Seeing a therapist just increases the chances of people finding out what happened." Bill turned to face Blaine now. "I spoke to the detective today and there's a chance that we can keep the less… savory… aspects of all this quiet."

"What…what do you mean?" Blaine asked.

"We might just be able to get the men charged with assault, and then no one needs to know the other details."

"But… doesn't that mean they won't get as long a sentence?"

"Probably," Bill waved his hand dismissively, "but as it is, neither of them are admitting to it anyway, so if you go ahead with all of this you'll probably have to testify in court against them and then everyone will know. Is it really worth it, Blaine?"

For a minute Blaine could see where his father was coming from. He really didn't want everyone knowing what happened to him, seeing him as a victim for the rest of his life. If he didn't push that side of it the whole thing would be over a lot sooner. Sure, the men would get a lot shorter prison sentences, not to mention the one who was still at large. _Lance_, his brain helpfully supplied. He closed his eyes and willed the memories that the name had dredged up away. Just for a minute he was ready to agree with his father.

Until the man spoke again.

"After all, it's all very subjective. Who's to say what really happened that night?"

Blaine hands clenched in anger. He opened his eyes to see his mom staring at his dad in shock at the bile that had just come out of his mouth.

"You think I wanted this?" Blaine voice was quiet, but the tension in it was palpable.

"Well, no, of course not…" Bill started to backpedal a little," but maybe things just got out of hand…."

Blaine stood up then. "Out of hand?" he seethed. He pulled the collar of his t-shirt down, fully revealing the dark bruises that still encircled his throat. "Does this look a little 'out of hand' to you, Dad?"

Bill winced at the sight but didn't say anything, and Natalie raised her hand to her own throat as tears filled her eyes.

"Does this look like I wanted it? That's what you think, isn't it?" Blaine didn't give his dad a chance to reply because he didn't care what he had to say. Blaine was speaking now and nothing was going to stop him. "You raised me to be a good and moral person, so why do you think the fact that I'm gay means all of that goes out the window? Do you really think I would have sex with grown men in an alley? But even if I did, that doesn't make this right. No means no. You know what, Dad? It may shock you to know that I am…." Blaine choked on the word, realizing it was no longer true" ….I _was_ a virgin. I've never done anything more than kiss a boy. In fact, you've probably got your wish, because I don't know if I'll ever be able to do any more without… this… ruining it. I'll never be able to do anything without hearing them, seeing them, feeling them, tasting them…." Every word he used seemed to hit his dad like a punch and he was pleased. "…..and you think I wanted this?" The last words were almost whispered.

"Of course I don't think you wanted it, but I warned you before that this lifestyle you've chosen brings risks. I'm sorry you had to learn that so young, but it's none the less a valuable lesson to learn." His father was doing what he always did when he felt like he'd been backed into a corner- he was getting preachy.

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Blaine knew how much his father hated swearing." They almost killed me, they almost killed Kurt and you think that we brought this on ourselves. That I learned a lesson from this?" He paused then before adding, "when did you stop loving me, Dad?"

Blaine didn't know at what point he'd stood up during his little speech, but he was surprised to find himself towering over his father.

"I've never stopped loving you, Blaine. How could you even…." Bill looked genuinely upset at the question.

"Really, because I've seen the way Kurt is with his dad and it's nothing like this." Blaine indicated the two of them.

Bill stood up then, clearly unwilling to sit and be intimidated by his own son. "I might know the _precious _Burt Hummel would be brought into this. If you think he's so great, what don't you ask him to be your father? Then you'll see how far from perfect he is. No one is without flaws."

His father was yelling now. Blaine had touched a nerve.

"Of course he's not perfect, but at least he has the courage to own up to his mistakes. He doesn't need everyone to see him as perfect. Not like you. You know what? I wish he were my father." Blaine could hear his voice getting louder and louder until the final thing he said was screeched into his father's face..."BECAUSE I HATE YOU."

He heard it rather than felt it. A loud noise that echoed around the room. The sound of flesh hitting flesh, followed by a sob from his mother. He felt the blood trickling down his chin and raised a hand up to where his almost healed lip had been split open again. When he held them up in front of his eyes, his fingers were red with blood. He looked with frightened eyes at his father. Bill was looking at his own hand, the one he'd just used to slap his son's face, as though it were an alien thing, something that didn't belong to him. He looked up and seeing the blood running down his son's chin, he reached a hand out to touch it. Blaine couldn't help flinching away, he didn't stop to acknowledge the guilt in his father's eyes. He just panicked. He ran from the room, grabbing his keys as he went. As he stumbled from the house, he heard someone calling his name but he didn't stop to see who spoke.

He just kept running.

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><p>AN: So once again please don't hate me, we'll all comfort Blaine together in the next chapter.


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Okay so let's start with the obvious. I am so sorry this has took so long, I have lots of reasons, some valid, some not so much. Also I'm sorry I haven't replied to the last round of reviews and messages, I just felt too guilty, I'm a bit of a bury my head in the sand kind of person. So here is finally chapter 47, I don't know if you remember how 46 ended it was so long ago but basically Blaine had an arguement with his dad and Mr Anderson hit him. Blaine then ran from the house. So here we go again. Thank you everyone who has stuck around although I'm sure I've lost a few readers.

Thanks as always to Rory46, without who you wouldn't be getting a chapter at all.

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><p>Chapter Forty Seven<p>

Natalie watched the taillights of her son's car disappear into the distance before going back into the house and closed the door behind her. She walked back into the dining room to find her husband standing in exactly the same position that she'd left him in.

He looked over at her with a dazed expression. He opened his mouth to speak but she didn't give him the chance.

"Get out." She said the words calmly and quietly but there was no ignoring the venom in her voice.

"What…I…what?" Bill looked surprised.

"You heard me. I said get out." Natalie started to collect the plates from the barely eaten meal.

Bill opened his mouth but before he could say anything, Natalie spoke again.

"Whatever you're about to say, I don't want to hear it. I'm going to go wash these dishes, and I expect you to be gone by the time I'm done." With that, she left the room without waiting for a reply.

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><p>Puck liked spending time with Finn's family. Ever since he was a kid, Carole had felt like a second mom to him. Not that he didn't love his own mom, it's just that Carole was a little softer around the edges, not quite so harsh. When she'd first gotten together with Burt Hummel, Puck had thought that maybe he would lose some of the closeness they'd shared. He'd never been that comfortable with adult males, not to mention all the years he'd spent tormenting the man's son. He still wasn't sure if Burt knew about his past indiscretions, but Puck probably guessed not, because the older man had been very accepting of him. Puck surprised himself with how much he actually liked the man. Since he and Finn had gotten over their little spat about Puck knocking up Finn's ex-girlfriend, he found himself spending a lot of time at the Hummel's home. That said, he'd still been unsure about coming over to watch a movie and have pizza, and when Finn had texted him his first instinct had been to say 'no'. He wasn't sure what the atmosphere would be like there and he didn't want to intrude when everyone was still so hurting. Finn had insisted though, saying it had actually been his mom's idea, and that she thought it would be good to do something normal for a change. Puck had agreed and now that he was here, he was glad he did.<p>

It had been a little awkward at first, especially when Kurt joined them watching the movie. Burt and Carole were somewhere in the house but they'd left the three boys to themselves watching some mindless comedy that Finn had found on Netflix. They now sat in comfortable silence, every now and then Puck or Finn laughing at something on the screen. Kurt wasn't laughing, but Puck wasn't sure if that was because he was still feeling bad or because it wasn't his kind of movie. He had a feeling it was probably the latter. Puck kept a close eye on him all the same and noticed the way he kept checking his phone.

He was just about to ask Kurt if he was okay when the doorbell rang.

"Pizza's here," Finn said, practically jumping up from the sofa. "Go grab it, Puck," Finn said as he thrust some money into his hand. "Me and Kurt will get the stuff from the kitchen."

Puck took the money and headed for the front door.

"You only just….," Puck trailed off as he saw who was stood on the doorstep.

It wasn't so much the blood on his chin as the lost look in his eyes that had Puck reaching his hand out towards Blaine, but when the other boy flinched away, he dropped it quickly. Without taking his eyes off of him, Puck shouted over his shoulder, loudly.

"Kurt!"

Kurt came down the hallway grumbling under his breath, "can't you handle a simple pizza deli-….," his words trailing off as he saw who was standing in the doorway.

"Blaine." The word came out almost as a whisper and the next thing Puck knew he was being shoved aside as Kurt desperately reached for his boyfriend. The curly- haired boy allowed Kurt to pull him into his arms, but otherwise didn't react.

Puck stumbled backwards from the scene in front of him bumping into Finn as he came to see what the holdup was about.

"What…?" Finn started to ask.

"Go get Burt," Puck replied, never taking his eyes off the two boys in front of him.

Finn looked past Puck to see what he was staring at, then without a word went to fetch his mom and stepdad.

Puck felt like he was intruding, but at the same time he didn't want to leave the two boys alone.

"Blaine, please talk to me," Kurt was speaking, and he pulled away from Blaine slightly so he could look at him as he spoke. "What happened?" He reached his hand out to touch the painfully swollen looking lip that still glistened wetly with blood, most of which had dried in a sickening trail down the other boy's chin and had stained the top half of his shirt where it had dripped down. It looked like Blaine had made no attempt to stop the bleeding or even wipe it away. In fact, until Kurt lightly touched his fingertips to the raw wound, Puck had a feeling Blaine hadn't even been aware of it. He flinched away with a flash of pain in his eyes and Puck actually felt a little bit of relief at the sight; at least he wasn't completely out of it.

Kurt pulled his hand back as if burned. "Sorry," he whispered.

"What's going on?" Burt asked as he came into the hallway, closely followed by Carole and Finn. Puck definitely felt like he was in the way now, but he was trapped with nowhere to go so he just stood with his back against the door and took it all in.

Kurt didn't say anything, just took a step back from Blaine so the others could see him clearly. Burt hissed at the sight of the blood on Blaine's chin and Puck saw Carole go pale.

"What the hell?" Burt stepped forward angrily, but hesitated when Blaine backed away slightly.

Carole pushed past her husband and gently reached her hand out to rest on Blaine's shoulder, drawing his focus to her.

"Are you okay, Blaine?" she asked in that voice that Puck knew so well, the one that had always managed to break through his own barriers in the past.

A barely perceptible shake of the head was Blaine's only answer.

"Oh, honey," Carole spoke gently. "Come and sit down and let me look at that." She reached down and took his hand, leading him into the kitchen like a small child who had lost his way.

Puck thought he should probably take the opportunity to slip away quietly, but for some reason he found himself following all of them into the kitchen. Curiosity was a bitch sometimes.

Blaine was sitting down at the counter, Kurt next to him. Carole was getting supplies out of a first aid kit that she'd placed on the counter in front of him. Finn stood in the background, looking as out of place as Puck felt. But it was Burt that attracted Puck's attention. The man stood to the side of his wife, looking on motionlessly. At a quick glance it might have seemed that he was calm, but Puck knew barely concealed rage when he saw it- he was basically the master of it himself. He could see the tension in the man's jaw, the way his fists were clenched tightly at his side, and most telling of all, the look in his eyes. The cold fury he saw there chilled him to the bone. He was suddenly very pleased that Burt had never found out about some of the things he'd subjected Kurt to in the past, because he had a feeling that having that look directed at him might just have turned him into a blubbering baby.

Carole gently started cleaning the dried blood off of Blaine's chin, avoiding his lip for now. Puck watched Kurt tentatively take his boyfriend's hand.

"Blaine," Kurt spoke his name quietly, trying not to startle the other boy. "What happened to your lip?"

Blaine didn't answer, just stared at where Kurt's hand rested on his.

"Was it…,"Puck frowned when Kurt hesitated. If Kurt knew who'd done this, why wasn't he saying it?

Kurt took a deep breath before trying again, almost in a whisper this time.

"Was it your dad?" Puck heard the sharp intake of breath from Burt and he was surprised that steam wasn't coming out of the older man's ears. If Puck thought he'd looked angry before, then that was nothing compared to now.

Blaine didn't answer, but everyone could see the trembling that started to overtake his entire body.

"Blaine….,"Kurt started to speak, but before he could say anything else he was interrupted.

"I told him I hated him." The injured boy's voice sounded flat and emotionless.

"So he hit you?" Carole's voice was incredulous.

"I just…I shouldn't have said that…,"Blaine's voice tapered off.

"That son of a bitch…,"Burt was muttering under his breath, then in a louder voice he spoke directly to Blaine. "Let me just make sure I've got this right. Your dad did this?."

Blaine nodded his head slightly and then jerked it up in surprise when Burt grabbed his keys off the counter and rushed from the room, all the while muttering under his breath.

"I knew it was mistake to leave him there….that insensitive bastard….I'm going to….," the rest of his rant unheard as Burt was already out the front door.

"Finn, go with him," Carole shouted and Finn was already running from the room to catch up with his stepfather.

"Dad!" Kurt shouted after them, stricken.

"It's my fault," Blaine was muttering under his breath, "…all my fault."

"Hey, look at me." Carole's voice was sharp and actually drew all of the boys' attention to her.

"This was _not_ your fault Blaine. Nothing that has happened is your fault."

As Puck watched Blaine lower his eyes back to the countertop, he had a feeling that it was going to take a lot more than those words to convince Blaine.

Standing here in this kitchen, the full ramifications of what had happened to these people started to sink in for Puck. He found himself reaching for a chair as his legs went to jelly at just how big, how life- changing all this was. Part of him wanted to run from the room, back to the safety of his own house, where none of this was happening. But he knew that wasn't an option; he was part of it now and he couldn't turn and walk away. He may not know Blaine very well, but he knew that he needed all the support he could get. If there was one thing he's learnt this last year, it was how important it was to have real friends, so there was no way he could turn his back on him now.

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><p>Finn sat beside Burt in the truck and decided to just keep quiet. Burt clearly had some things he wanted to get off his chest and maybe it was a good idea to let him rant, then maybe he wouldn't have to stop him from hitting Blaine's dad when they finally got there. Not that Finn didn't think he really deserved it, in fact he wouldn't mind a swing or two at the man himself. He couldn't believe someone would hit their own son when they were already hurting so much. That said, if he let Burt hit him and then Burt collapsed from his heart exploding, then his mom and Kurt were <em>really<em> going to be pissed.

They pulled up in front of Blaine's house a lot sooner than he was expecting. He hadn't really been paying attention to their speed, something he was now glad of.

Burt was out of the truck before the engine noise had really died.

"Stay here," he snarled at Finn without looking.

"Oh, hell no," Finn said, jumping out and following the older man as he stomped up the drive.

Burt didn't bother with the doorbell and instead began hammering on the door with his clenched fist, as Finn just stood by nervously.

The door swung open a few seconds later to reveal a very nervous- looking Mrs. Anderson, and Burt surprised Finn by pushing her aside and storming into the house. He shrugged apologetically at her as they both followed Burt into the house.

"He's gone," Natalie said, her voice sounding more worn down than Finn had ever heard anyone.

"Oh," Burt said, coming to a stop. Finn could practically see him deflate at the words.

"Is Blaine at your house?" Natalie's voice shook with the question.

"Yes," Finn answered, while Burt just glared at the floor.

"Oh, thank god." The older woman sank down onto one of the chairs. "Is he…is he okay?"

"What do you think?" Burt snapped.

"I'm so sorry, I should never have let…he went too far this time."

"I hope it's your husband you're talking about."

"Of course. I...I kicked Bill out." Burt raised his eyebrows at that. "I just…I don't know what to do now…I don't want to lose Blaine." Finn was pleased that Blaine's mom seemed to care at last, but she still sounded so weak and unsure he wasn't convinced that she was what Blaine needed right now.

"I think it might be best if he stays with us for a little while," Burt spoke, but it wasn't a question.

"If you think that's best. But can you let him know this is still his home and I want him to come back as soon as he's ready?"

"Of course," Burt replied, but Finn could tell he was just humoring her for now.

"We should probably get back before Mom throws a fit," Finn suggested.

"Yeah," Burt ran a weary hand over his head.

"If you wait here a minute, I'll go get him some things." Natalie seemed relieved that she could leave the room.

They didn't have to wait long before Natalie was back downstairs and handing Finn a duffel bag and Blaine's phone. Then she handed Burt a familiar looking bear.

"I know he'll want this." She seemed reluctant to let it go for a moment. Burt glanced down at the bear in his hands before turning and walking away.

"Burt?" Natalie called after them as they walked out the front door.

"Do you think everything will be okay?" Finn found himself resenting her for asking Burt that. How dare she? It was too big of a question. What right did she have to expect his stepdad to answer that?

Burt stopped next to him and gave a weary sigh before turning back to look at her.

"Honestly?" he said. "I don't know. But I think not pretending that everything was okay before is a good start." With those words, Burt turned and walked away, and he didn't look back.

Finn gave Blaine's mother one last look before climbing into the cab beside Burt. She stood watching them leave, tears streaming down her face and her arms clutched tightly around her middle. In that moment he almost felt sorry for her. He'd never seen anyone look so alone.

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><p>AN: So I have no right to ask for reviews but I would still like some please. Next chapter will not take 3 months I promise. If nothing else this baby is due in 6 weeks and I'd really like to get this wrapped up by then, or at least back on track.


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: Hi again. Took a while but at least it's a bit quicker than last time. Bit shorter than I would have liked aswell but I needed to end it where I do. Thank for all your lovely reviews, if I haven't replied I apologize, doesn't mean I don't love you. One reviewer asked for my opinion on the names they suggested but wouldn't let me reply, sorry. I thought they were great by the way, a couple of them are already on our list and a lot of them have already been taken by other family members. Seeing as I'm due any day now, my next update will probably be the big reveal, boy or girl and the name. So best guesses please, in real life everybody thinks it's a boy so I guess we'll see.

Thanks for sticking with me guys.

Don't own em.

Thanks again to Rory46, for being my beta and also the amazing gift of one of Darren's playbill from broadway!

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><p>Chapter Forty Eight<p>

Puck was feeling a little uncomfortable. Somehow he'd ended up sitting on the sofa next to Blaine, alone. First Carole had disappeared to answer the door and then Kurt had gone to get Blaine a clean shirt, after extracting a promise from Puck to keep an eye on the still-quiet Blaine.

Puck kept sneaking glances at the boy beside him. He hated silences like this, but so far he'd managed to avoid blurting out any number of inappropriate comments. He should have realized it was too good to last; if only he'd been the one to go get the pizza instead of Carole, then he wouldn't be in this position.

He risked another quick sideways glance at Blaine, inwardly wincing at the sight of his face. He'd not really seen the other boy's injuries so close before and now that he could, he wished he hadn't. How someone could hit someone already so badly injured was beyond him. Talk about kicking a dog while they're down, I mean… _Jesus_, and from what Kurt had said, it was his own father that had done it. Now Puck knew what it was like to have an asshole for a dad, but this was a whole other level of douchebaggery. It was this feeling that prompted him to say something, something only seconds later he wished he hadn't.

"So your dad sounds like a jerk."

Blaine started like he'd been slapped. Puck wasn't sure he'd even known he was there until he'd spoken, and as he turned fear-filled eyes in his direction he found himself swallowing nervously.

"I mean…you know," he said, gesturing at Blaine's swollen lip and the blood on his shirt. In a daze, the other boy looked down at where Puck was indicating, taking in the bloodstain that covered the front of his shirt. He took in a sharp ragged breath. Without even thinking about it, Puck reached out a hand and placed it on his shoulder, trying to offer some form of comfort. Blaine at first started to pull away from his hand, but when Puck heard his breathing get even more ragged and uneven he refused to take his hand away, instead using it to gently tug the smaller boy down until he was resting his head on his shoulder. Blaine seemed to resist for a second longer and then it was like something inside him unlocked and Puck found himself wrapping his other arm around the boy as he sobbed into his shoulder.

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><p>Kurt practically ran upstairs to grab a clean shirt, using the opportunity to use the bathroom, and as he washed his hands he was shocked at his appearance in the mirror. Sure he'd always been pale, hence the nickname 'Porcelain', but he actually looked like a ghost right now. Turning away from the mirror, he quickly dried his hands and jogged back down the stairs, anxious to get back to his boyfriend.<p>

As he went to walk back into the room where he'd left Blaine he stopped in shock. Blaine was clearly sobbing, held tightly in the arms of one of his former bullies. Puck's worried eyes met his over the curly head of his boyfriend.

"Dude, thank god," he said, speaking to Kurt. "I think….I think I broke him…."

Kurt felt a momentary flash of rage at the mohawked boy, before common sense kicked in and he realized that this wasn't Puck's fault. In fact, it was actually a good thing. Zombie-Blaine had been starting to scare him.

He took a seat on the other side of his sobbing boyfriend and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Blaine." The word was spoken quietly, but the second it left his mouth he found his arms full of a weeping Blaine as he let go of Puck and instead buried his head in Kurt's shoulder. And part of Kurt was pleased. He'd wanted to do this for so long, to be able to comfort his boyfriend and show him that he was there for him. But he'd been scared to touch him, worried at how Blaine would react. As wrong as it was, it felt so right.

He was vaguely aware of Puck standing up and leaving the room, leaving the two of them alone, but he kept his eyes on the broken boy in his arms.

Kurt wasn't sure how long it took, he didn't really care, but after a while he felt Blaine start to relax in his arms, the quiet sobs subsiding gradually. Eventually they stopped and Blaine pulled away from Kurt's embrace. Kurt let him go but kept one arm wrapped around his shoulder, unwilling to relinquish this new found intimacy that Blaine was allowing.

"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I think we should," he said softly, gently reaching up to brush the loose curls away from his boyfriend's forehead.

He felt Blaine tense up beside him and was worried that maybe he shouldn't have said anything after all.

"Please Blaine, let me in…..just a little bit," Kurt pleaded. Blaine glanced up at him before quickly averting his eyes.

"I'm scared."

The words were barely whispered, but they sent a jolt of pain through Kurt's body none-the-less.

"What are you scared of, Blaine?" Kurt asked. Not that he didn't think Blaine had anything to be scared of, the list was endless, actually. It was just that he didn't know which of those things Blaine was referring to.

"Of what will happen if I do let you in." Kurt closed his eyes in pain.

"I'm scared that if you really knew what happened, if you know what I am, what I've done….then…"

"Then what, Blaine? You think anything you say will change the way I feel about you? I will never stop loving you. Nothing will change that…."

"It did for him." Blaine's head was down but Kurt was almost glad he couldn't see the pain in his eyes, because his anguish-filled words were enough.

"Him? You mean your dad?"

A barely perceptible nod was the only answer.

Kurt felt his temper rising at the thought of Blaine's father. Things had been going well, Blaine had shown signs of being able to get over this and then his father had to go and ruin everything.

"Your father's an asshole, Blaine, and I don't blame you for hating him. That's all he deserves."

"Except I don't," Blaine mumbled.

Kurt stayed silent, deciding to let Blaine speak at his own pace.

"I don't hate him. He's my dad…I …I love him. I'd love him no matter what. That's why I don't understand." Kurt had never heard his boyfriend sound so young.

"Am I that horrible? Did I deserve this?" He turned tear-filled eyes on Kurt then.

"No, of course not," Kurt's voice was gentle but he felt anything but. "Nobody deserves this, but especially not you. You're so sweet and kind and good and if your dad can't see that then that's his problem. He doesn't deserve to have you as a son if he can't appreciate that. You deserve better than that."

"But I don't want better than that, I want him. He wasn't always like this you know. When I was a kid we used to have loads of fun. He'd take me fishing and camping and all the cliché father-son stuff, then I came out and it just all changed."

Kurt was silent again, not sure what to say to comfort his boyfriend, his anger at Mr. Anderson too strong just to ignore, but at the same time he didn't want to upset him anymore.

"Look at me, Blaine," he said eventually. Blaine hesitantly raised his eyes until they met his.

Kurt took both of his boyfriend's hands in his. "I'm sorry okay?"

You have nothing to apologize for," Blaine frowned at him.

"I'm sorry that your dad can't accept you, but there's nothing I can do to change that."

"I don't…."

"But what I can do is make you a promise."

Blaine eyes crinkled in confusion.

"I promise that nothing you say to me will make me reject you. Nothing."

"You can't promise that." Blaine tried to turn his head away.

"Try me." Kurt's voice was firm and Blaine turned apprehensive eyes back on him.

"You mean….?"

"Yes, I want you to tell me everything. Everything that happened that night."

"I don't know if I can do that," Blaine admitted, and Kurt could see the fear in his eyes.

"I need you to do it, for us," Kurt said carefully. He didn't want to seem like he was pressuring the scared boy but he knew this was something they both needed. If they didn't do this, then there was no moving forward, no getting over this. Blaine needed to know that what Kurt was telling him was true, otherwise it would always be another dark cloud hanging over them and he would always be waiting for the day that Kurt would walk away from him.

Blaine looked down again, clearly torn as to what to do. When he looked back up after what seemed like a lifetime, Kurt could see he'd made his decision. There was still a lot of fear in the look he gave him, but also a new look of determination as well.

"Okay," he nodded. Kurt couldn't help himself. The relief he felt at those words caused him to lean forward and capture his boyfriend's lips in a gentle kiss, mindful of the reopened injury there.

When he pulled back he saw a flash of pain cross the other boy's face that made him feel guilty for giving into the impulse, but it was quickly replaced with a sweet smile. A small reminder of the Blaine that Kurt knew.

"Can we go somewhere more private, though?" he asked.

"Of course. We'll go to my room," Kurt said, standing up from the couch without letting go of the other boy's hands. He gently pulled him up so that they stood facing each other.

"Are you sure you want to do this now?" he asked.

"Yes. I think you're right. I need to do this. I just…," Blaine trailed off.

"What?" Kurt prompted gently.

"I just hope I'm strong enough to." Blaine flushed in embarrassment at his admission.

"I have no doubt that you are" Kurt told him, and he believed it was true. What he wasn't so sure of though was whether he himself was strong enough to hear it. Still, he'd gotten them to this point, so there was no backing out now.

"Let's go," he said, and he led his boyfriend towards the stairs. Each step sent a nervous flutter through his stomach, but he knew there was no turning back now.

* * *

><p>AN: So hope you liked it and sorry to leave it there, but it seemed like a logical place.


	49. authors note

Not a chapter sorry about that.

I hate it when authors do this but felt the need in this instance.

I have heard that this site is taking down certain types of stories and as this story falls into that category I wanted to let you know that I am also posting it at scarves and coffee . net (just take out the spaces) under the same title and the user name ifonlyrhona. that is also my tumblr name and the story can also be found there. I am a bit behind in posting the story to the first site but will try and get it up to date in the next few weeks.

I am working on the next chapter and hope to have it with you really soon and will continue posting it here for as long as possible.

Also for anyone interested in my personal life lol. Brody James Armstrong was born at 9.45pm on 29th Febuary 2012 and weighed 8lb 8oz. He is now 3 months old and doing really well.

Once again sorry this isn't a chapter but it's coming I promise.


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